Why the previous boss had to leave, what Twitch has to do with it and what has happened so far

Sam Altman has to go and someone from Twitch, of all people, should take over. (Image: OpenAI | Twitch | Pixabay – DavidRockDesign)

Sam Altman was until recently the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. However, as of Friday, November 17, 2023, he is no longer at the helm of the AI ​​company, as OpenAI announced in a blog entry.

He should come back after a short while. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case now. Instead, former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear will take over, as Forbes reports.

But what actually happened? We will explain one by one.

Board of directors terminates OpenAI founder Sam Altman

Why was Altman terminated? On Friday, November 17th, OpenAI’s board of directors announced that company founder and CEO Sam Altman is leaving the company.

The company blog explains this step as follows:

Who will take charge now? In the same blog entry, the board announced that OpenAI’s previous CTO, Mira Murati, would take over the position of “interim CEO”. However, former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear is now set to take on this role. But more on that in a moment.

Who else was fired? Company co-founder Greg Brockman is also affected by the termination. But he won’t have to leave the company completely:

How did Altman and Brockman react? The termination apparently came as a surprise to both of them. In a post Altman posted on X (formerly Twitter), Brockman describes exactly how they found out about it.

Link to Twitter content

Accordingly, Sam Altman is said to have only received the invitation to the corresponding termination meeting on Thursday evening. Apparently he didn’t yet know the nature of the meeting.

Shortly after Altman was terminated, Brockmann is said to have received the news that he had to resign as CEO.

Her management team is said to have been informed shortly afterwards.

Not with Brockman: A few hours after Brockman heard of the board’s decision, he resigned, along with three senior researchers.

Still, Altman is grateful: On

A day after his resignation, he also wrote that he had received a wave of encouragement and support:

Link to Twitter content

Altman’s dubious return

Will Sam Altman become CEO of OpenAI again? On Saturday, November 18, The Verge reported that the board was poised to reinstate Sam Altman as CEO. They cite “several people who are knowledgeable about the matter” as the source for this statement.

One of these people reportedly told The Verge that Altman was “ambivalent.” If he returned, he would therefore like to see significant changes in company management.

Return failed: The Verge, in another article, speaks of “multiple sources” who testify that the four-person board did not want to resign and that Sam Altman would therefore not come back.

Greg Brockman (left) and Sam Altman (right). (Images: YouTube – SXSW | Business Insider)

How are OpenAI’s employees reacting to the situation? Many employees sided with Altman and gave the board an ultimatum.

If they didn’t reinstate Altman and Brockman to their old roles by 5 p.m. North American time last Saturday, they would face a wave of layoffs.

The board let this ultimatum pass. Employees then began advocating for Altman and Brockman on social media. Another deadline to reach a “ceasefire” by 5 p.m. on Sunday also passed.

Hundreds of employees have now threatened to leave the company in an open letter to the board of OpenAI if their demands are not met. A specific number of signatures is not known. Various international media reports there are 500 to 700 people – that would be almost the entire workforce of OpenAI.

Link to Twitter content

Former CEO of Twitch takes over for now

Three CEOs in three days: After Mira Murati was named interim CEO and Sam Altman was set to return for a short period of time, OpenAI’s board opted for a third option on Sunday, as The Information first reported.

The new, also “interim” CEO is Emmett Shear. He was co-founder and CEO of the streaming portal Twitch.

Why should Shear take over? The appointment of Emmett Shear as interim CEO comes as a surprise because he is not considered a leading AI specialist. Why the board of OpenAI chose him of all people cannot be said at the moment.

The Twitch logo. (Image: Pixabay – Rey)

Shear is ready: In a detailed statement on X, the former CEO of Twitch talks about his decision-making process.

He justified his departure from Twitch with the birth of his son. Now, however, he wants to be CEO of OpenAI.

Why doesn’t Murati remain interim CEO for the time being? There is no official statement about this. However, she has publicly sided with Altman. This could have angered the board. But so far this is just speculation.

Altman and Brockman at Microsoft

What’s next for the two OpenAI founders? Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced on X that the two will lead a new AI research team at the Redmond company.

Link to Twitter content

Altman has already confirmed this on his own X-profile by sharing Nadella’s post with the words “The mission continues.” It remains to be seen whether 500 to 700 OpenAI employees will also join Microsoft’s new AI research team. You can find out more about this here:

Chaos at OpenAI: Hundreds of employees want to quit and move to Microsoft with Sam Altman

Apparently Microsoft has already considered open positions for OpenAI employees. We will keep you updated on further developments.

What do you think about Altman’s expulsion? And what do you think of the idea of ​​naming Emmett Shear as the new CEO – even if only temporarily? Do you think the OpenAI employees will make good on their threat and move to Microsoft? Feel free to write us your opinion on this topic in the comments!