ChatGPT Developer OpenAI Sacks CEO Sam Altman

OpenAI Inc. fired its Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman as the Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) developer’s board lost confidence in his ability to lead the Microsoft-backed company.

Altman will depart as CEO and leave the board of directors as the board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading the company, OpenAI said in a statement.

“Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities,” it added.

The board of OpenAI acts as the overall governing body for all its activities. OpenAI’s board consists of OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner.

“We are grateful for Sam’s many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI. At the same time, we believe new leadership is necessary as we move forward,” the board said.

OpenAI, founded in December 2015, said its Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati will serve as an interim CEO, effective immediately.

The San Francisco, US-based company said Murati, a member of OpenAI’s leadership team for five years, has played a critical role in the firm’s evolution into a global artificial intelligence (AI) leader.

Given her long tenure and close engagement with all aspects of the company, including her experience in AI governance and policy, the board believes she is uniquely qualified for the role and anticipates a seamless transition while it conducts a formal search for a permanent CEO, OpenAI said.

As a part of this transition, Greg Brockman will be stepping down as chairman of the board and will remain in his role at the company, reporting to the CEO, according to the statement.

OpenAI, whose investors include Microsoft, Reid Hoffman’s charitable foundation, and Khosla Ventures, launched ChatGPT in November 2022. ChatGPT, which interacts in a conversational way, is an advanced AI chatbot.

The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests, according to OpenAI.

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