First he was on top, then he was out, then he was at Microsoft, and now just five days after his unexpected and provocative ouster, Sam Altman is once again CEO of OpenAI.
The board of the company behind artificial intelligence applications like ChatGPT and Dall-E will be reorganized, with only one holdover after its former members voted to fire Altman over concerns about his candor with them. The new leadership will include Bret Taylor, formerly of Salesforce, and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella backed the board overhaul and Altman’s reinstatement, saying it was a “first essential step.”
In the end, Altman looks to be in a more powerful position despite the tumult, having demonstrated the loyalty he commands from employees and the trust in him from Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest investor. With a new board in place, Altman’s control over arguably one of the most important tech companies in the world has perhaps never been firmer.