Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, faced a sudden exit from the company amid doubts over his leadership abilities. As per reports, Mira Murati had a role to play in his ouster.
In Short
- Sam Altman was fired as CEO of OpenAI three months ago.
- Reports say that Mira Murati had a key role to play in his ouster.
- Murati had stepped in as interim CEO after Altman’s exit.
Sam Altman’s sudden ouster from OpenAI made many headlines over three months ago. The OpenAI CEO was suddenly fired from the company and nobody seemed to know why. OpenAI had issued a statement after Altman’s ouster, saying that they no longer had faith in his ability to lead the company. Altman was resinstated as the CEO after five days after the incident. A lot had happened during this time, including company’s employees threatening to quit and join Microsoft if Altman wasn’t back. After returning as the company’s CEO, Altman fired all previous board members to form a new board.
However, questions about his exit remained. A report by The New York Times now states that an upcoming report from an external law firm might reveal more details about the decision and the chaotic five days before Altman’s return. And ahead of the report by the law firm, a new detail about the whole scenario has surfaced. As per The New York Times, OpenAI’s CTO Mira Murati played a key role in Altman’s ouster. To recall, when Altman was ousted from the company, Murati had stepped in as the interim CEO as well.
The New York Times report states that Murati wrote a private memo to Altman questioning his management and shared concerns with the board. This contributed to the decision to remove Altman, as per insiders.
Around the same time, Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s co-founder and chief scientist, expressed similar worries, citing what he characterised as Altman’s history of manipulative behaviour. Both executives described a turbulent relationship with Altman. While it remains uncertain whether they provided concrete examples, they conveyed that Altman occasionally fostered a toxic work environment by excluding executives who didn’t align with his decisions.
Ms. Murati’s discussions with the board give us a peek into challenges within OpenAI’s top management, even though both leaders publicly supported Mr. Altman’s comeback to the company.
The law firm WilmerHale, conducting the investigation, is expected to conclude its investigations soon, and a new board of directors of the firm may be announced simultaneously. After Mr. Altman came back to the company in November, several directors had left the board.
Hannah Wong, OpenAI’s spokesperson, said that the company’s senior leadership team which was led by Murati during her time as interim chief executive, had requested Altman’s return. This sentiment was echoed in an open letter signed by 95 percent of OpenAI’s employees. Wong said as per New York Times, “The strong support from his team underscores that he is an effective CEO who is open to different points of view, willing to solve complex challenges, and who demonstrates care for his team. We look forward to findings from the independent review versus unsubstantiated claims.”
Altman declined to comment, and Sutskever’s lawyer refuted claims that he approached the board. Murati did not respond to requests for comment but later shared in a message to OpenAI employees that she and Altman have a strong partnership, and that she has never stopped herself from providing feedback to him directly.
Employees at OpenAI, particularly those who threatened to quit during Altman’s dismissal, are eager for the WilmerHale investigation to shed light on the events. It remains unclear if the full report or a summary will be made public.
This article was published on India today.
