Sam Altman reclaims OpenAI CEO role after board drama

Image: OpenAI

Sam Altman has reclaimed his position as the CEO of OpenAI, after a boardroom dispute that may have nearly destroyed the company in the past few days. He will be joined by Greg Brockman, the former president who quit over Altman’s ouster.

The company said on Tuesday night it has a “preliminary agreement” for Altman to resume his role, along with a new board of Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo. D’Angelo is the sole survivor of the previous board that fired Altman on Friday. He stays on the new board to represent the old board, sources say.

The main task of this interim board is to appoint an expanded board of up to nine people that will overhaul the governance of OpenAI. Microsoft, which has promised to invest billions in the company, wants a seat on that board, as does Altman. Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella said this week that the company did not want any more “surprises.”

Both sides have reportedly agreed to an investigation into the saga, which will likely be done by an outside law firm. The power struggle at the core of this conflict is not over yet, according to sources.

All the key parties have posted about the deal for Altman to return, which sources say is almost done. On X (formerly Twitter), Altman said that “everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together.”

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