Microsoft hired the ex-CEO of OpenAI. Why his staff wants to join him.
Microsoft tapped Sam Altman to head its AI research division, days after the ChatGPT creator was dismissed from the board of OpenAI. Mr. Altman鈥檚 firing has stirred controversy, as hundreds of OpenAI staff threaten to quit.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, speaks at a talk in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 5. Mr. Altman's abrupt removal from his company's board has rocked the tech industry, as hundreds of OpenAI staff threaten to join their former boss at Microsoft.
Amir Cohen/Reuters/File
San Francisco
OpenAI named ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, while outgoing chief Sam Altman is set to join backer Microsoft in a surprise turn of events for the startup at the heart of an artificial intelligence boom.
The appointments, settled late at night on Sunday, followed Mr. Altman鈥檚 abrupt departure just days earlier as CEO of the ChatGPT maker, and ended speculation that he could return.
Mr. Shear鈥檚 appointment has not ended the turmoil at the company. OpenAI鈥檚 staff have threatened to quit the artificial intelligence startup and join Mr. Altman at Microsoft, according to a letter seen by Reuters, unless the board resigns.
Apart from chief technology officer Mira Murati, chief data scientist Ilya Sutskever, and chief operating officer Brad Lightcap, about 500 members of OpenAI staff said they would resign, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
In a statement on the social media platform X, Mr. Shear dismissed speculation that OpenAI鈥檚 board ousted Mr. Altman because of a spat over the safety of powerful AI models. Mr. Altman was a founding co-chair of the startup that kicked off the generative AI craze a year ago by releasing ChatGPT, a chatbot that became one of the world鈥檚 fastest-growing software applications.
Mr. Shear vowed to open an investigation into the firing, consider new governance for OpenAI, and continue its path of making available technology like its viral chatbot.
鈥淚鈥檓 not crazy enough to take this job without board support for commercializing our awesome models,鈥� Mr. Shear said, adding: 鈥淥penAI鈥檚 stability and success are too important to allow turmoil to disrupt them like this.鈥�
Mr. Shear co-founded Twitch and had stepped down from the Amazon.com-owned live video streaming platform earlier this year.
OpenAI dismissed Mr. Altman on Friday following a 鈥渂reakdown of communications,鈥� according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in posts on X that Mr. Altman would head a new research group inside the software maker, along with other departing OpenAI colleagues such as outgoing president Greg Brockman who quit following Altman鈥檚 ouster.
Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and staked its future on the startup, releasing what it called AI copilots to business customers based on OpenAI鈥檚 technology.
On the morning of Nov. 20, shares in Microsoft traded up nearly 2% as it appeared to walk off with OpenAI鈥檚 crown jewels while aiming to stabilize OpenAI, keeping key talent out of the hands of rivals including Alphabet鈥檚 Google and Amazon.com.
鈥淎I is a big opportunity for, and potential threat to, incumbent technology leaders so Microsoft will be delighted to be able to benefit from Altman鈥檚 knowledge and vision and prepare itself for a new major era of technological change,鈥� said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Microsoft had supported a return by Mr. Altman to the startup, according to sources, a move that seemed likely only hours prior to the Monday announcements. Teasing his expected reconciliation with OpenAI鈥檚 board, Mr. Altman had posted an image of himself on X on Sunday wearing an OpenAI guest badge with the caption: 鈥渇irst and last time i ever wear one of these.鈥�
OpenAI researchers have viewed Microsoft鈥檚 vast reserves of computing power as essential to the development of superintelligent machines. Mr. Nadella and Mr. Shear both said their companies remained committed to their partnership, while resources would go to Mr. Altman鈥檚 new group at Microsoft as well.
鈥淲e look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success,鈥� Mr. Nadella said.
In a separate post on X, Mr. Altman shared Mr. Nadella鈥檚 message with the words, 鈥渢he mission continues.鈥�
The decision not to reinstate Mr. Altman as OpenAI鈥檚 chief confounded efforts by investors and employees to steady the startup鈥檚 path. They feared a mass exodus of talent and its impact on an upcoming $86 billion share sale.
Shortly after the internal announcement of Mr. Shear鈥檚 appointment, distraught employees 鈥渟treamed out鈥� of OpenAI headquarters in San Francisco, The Information reported.
Dozens of staffers internally announced they were quitting the company on Sunday, according to the report, citing a person with knowledge of the situation. Several leaders of the startup posted on X on Nov. 20: 鈥淥penAI is nothing without its people.鈥�
Some of the recently departed researchers, such as Szymon Sidor, are joining the new effort at Microsoft, OpenAI鈥檚 now-former President Mr. Brockman said in a post on X.
Long in conflict has been OpenAI鈥檚 mission to build technology to benefit humanity, and that of its investors who have bankrolled the effort expecting a financial return, said analyst Richard Windsor of Radio Free Mobile.
鈥淭his weekend was simply the detonation of a bomb that has been waiting to go off,鈥� he said.
Governing OpenAI is a non-profit. Its four-person board as of Nov. 19 consists of three independent directors holding no equity in OpenAI and its chief scientist, Mr. Sutskever.
鈥淚 deeply regret my participation in the board鈥檚 actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we鈥檝e built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company,鈥� Mr. Sutskever said in a post on X.
This story was reported by Reuters. Akash Sriram contributed from Bengaluru, India.