Sam Altman returned to OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters, advocating for reinstatement alongside other departed leaders. Altman's unexpected removal as CEO and from the board has triggered various speculations about the reasons behind it.
Advocating Reinstatement with Departed Leaders
Just two days after being dismissed by OpenAI's board of directors, Engadget reported that Sam Altman reappeared at the company's San Francisco headquarters on Sunday, joining executives in a push for his reinstatement and that of other recently departed leaders.
Interim CEO Mira Murati conveyed that she and the leadership team had invited Altman back, as stated by individuals familiar with the situation. Greg Brockman, the former chairman and president, who resigned following Altman's termination, also returned to the office on Sunday.
Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon expressed optimism about reinstating Altman, Brockman, and three senior researchers who resigned in solidarity on Friday night.
The removal of Altman as CEO and from the OpenAI board of directors, which took everyone by surprise, has sparked numerous speculations about the underlying reasons. An internal memo circulated among the staff on that particular morning, cited a "breakdown in communication between Sam and the board" as the primary cause for Altman's ousting.
According to COO Brad Lightcap's memo, the decision did not respond to any misconduct or issues related to the organization's finances, business operations, safety, or security/privacy practices.
Altman took to Twitter to post a picture of himself wearing a guest badge. The tweet is open to diverse interpretations. Sources from The Verge have disclosed that Altman has imposed a decisive deadline of 5 PM PT for board members to reach a consensus.
This critical agreement could significantly influence Altman's future involvement with OpenAI, prompting speculation about whether he will exit or the board will make the decision.
Difficulty in Reaching a Consensus
One reason for the current impasse is the difficulty in reaching a consensus on the composition and responsibilities of the board in the event of Altman's reinstatement. Allegedly, Altman is pushing for the removal of the current board if he is to make a comeback, along with other proposed "governance changes."
Bloomberg's sources indicate that Altman is considering appointing former Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor to the board and is contemplating the addition of a Microsoft executive. However, the latter has not yet reached a decision.
Before his abrupt dismissal, Altman was engaged in fundraising efforts for a specialized AI chip project known as "Tigris," as reported by Bloomberg. He had been presenting the concept of custom Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) aimed at competing with NVIDIA's offerings to potential investors in the Middle East.
Additionally, Altman was reportedly seeking financial support for a hardware collaboration with former Apple designer Jony Ive, and he had reportedly approached SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son for backing. Insider sources informed Bloomberg that Altman is in the process of securing "tens of billions of dollars" to launch these ambitious projects.
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