The Unveiling of OpenAI: A Rollercoaster Ride Through Silicon Valley's Latest Drama

OpenAI surprised Silicon Valley and beyond last week when it abruptly removed CEO Sam Altman without much explanation. However, in a sudden change of events, Altman rejoined the company he co-founded, effectively displacing some of the individuals who had fired him from the board.

Altman has been a prominent figure in the company's pioneering work in artificial intelligence, particularly in developing its ChatGPT generative AI product. The recent drama has brought attention to other influential figures in the AI and internet industry who have collaborated for years and contributed to popular internet products.

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Former CEO Sam Altman to return to OpenAI

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CNN

What has made this story so unique and compelling? The rapid downfall, the diverse and relatively young board of directors, and the transformation of the non-profit company into a highly profitable one are all key factors. High-profile figures like Elon Musk and Microsoft's Satya Nadella also generated interest, as did the enduring friendships among the talented individuals involved.

However, the most significant factor may be the apparent moral or procedural divide between former and current OpenAI executives and board members regarding the significant threat posed by the technology and those who would wield it.

In the boardroom and backroom brawling at OpenAI, echoes of Shakespearean dramas and popular TV series like "Game of Thrones," "Billions," and "Succession" are found. Here are some of the characters involved, including Sam Altman.

Sam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, gained widespread recognition in the past year with the rapid growth of OpenAI's ChatGPT, which attracted 180 million users almost overnight. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the industry and disrupt various sectors. At the age of 38, Altman addressed Congress in May and highlighted the potential risks associated with AI technology, emphasizing the importance of raising awareness about these issues.

Hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Altman left Stanford University to pursue his work on a location app called Loopt. This startup was part of the initial cohort at the Y Combinator accelerator, where he collaborated with other notable companies like Reddit and Kiko, co-founded by OpenAI's interim head, Emmett Shear. Prior to leading OpenAI, Altman held the position of president at Y Combinator, where he provided mentorship to numerous founders and expanded his connections within Silicon Valley.

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'The only time I ever froze:' AI pioneer describes encounter with Steve Jobs

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CEO Satya Nadella, who holds a 49% stake in OpenAI, initially faced the possibility of significant losses after Sam Altman's departure from the company. However, Nadella's announcement on Monday regarding a new AI division led by former OpenAI co-founders turned the tables, positioning both himself and Microsoft as winners. Following the announcement, Microsoft's stock surged to a record high on Monday, rebounding from a 1.7% drop immediately after Altman's departure. Now that Altman has returned to OpenAI, the company's stock is approaching an all-time high, reaching over $379 a share. Nadella expressed optimism about the changes to the OpenAI board in a statement on Wednesday.

Mira Murati, who was named as Altman's interim successor by the OpenAI board on Friday, was swiftly replaced by Shear before the weekend was over. Following her brief time as interim CEO, Murati joined approximately 700 other OpenAI employees in signing a letter threatening to resign in protest of Altman's dismissal and demanding the board's resignation.

Murati, aged 34, became the Chief Technology Officer at OpenAI in 2018. Born in Albania, she is responsible for overseeing the distribution of the image generator DALL-E and the text-based ChatGPT. Murati is a graduate of Colby College and Dartmouth University, and has previously worked at Tesla. In an essay for Time magazine, Nadella praised her for playing a key role in scaling the company from a startup to one of the most important AI companies globally.

In 2019, Brockman, Altman, and Sutskever collaborated to establish OpenAI LP, a for-profit subsidiary operating within the larger nonprofit organization. This move contributed to OpenAI's rapid rise to a proposed valuation of $90 billion in just a few years. However, Sutskever's position within the company is now uncertain due to his involvement in the recent board drama.

As OpenAI's chief scientist, co-founder, and board member, Sutskever appears to have played a significant role in Altman's dismissal. He later endorsed an employee letter calling for the resignation of the entire board and the return of Altman and Brockman. In response to the letter's public disclosure, Sutskever issued an apology on X on Monday, expressing deep regret for his participation in the board's actions and his commitment to reconciling with the company. Despite this, his future with the company is now in question.

Adam D'Angelo

In 2018, D'Angelo became a member of OpenAI's board and will continue in this role despite recent changes. During his time at Phillips Exeter Academy, he collaborated with fellow students, including Mark Zuckerberg, to create music recommendation software. Following his graduation from the California Institute of Technology, he served as Facebook's chief technology officer and later established the popular question and answer platform, Quora, in 2009. He was also among the OpenAI board members who voted to remove Altman.

has commended OpenAI's unconventional board structure in which a non-profit entity has control over a for-profit entity. He expressed his hopes to Forbes in January, stating, "my hope is that we can make a significant positive impact on the world instead of just becoming another large corporation."

Bret Taylor, the new board chair at OpenAI, previously held the position of board chair at Twitter, where he was responsible for pushing Elon Musk to follow through with his acquisition attempt. Prior to this, Taylor served as co-CEO at Salesforce and gained experience at other tech giants such as Facebook and Google. He holds two computer science degrees from Stanford University.

Matt Shear, the 40-year-old co-founder of Amazons streaming service Twitch, has announced that he will be joining OpenAI as the interim CEO. He is taking over from Mira Murati, who held the position for less than 48 hours after Altman was fired. It is unclear what Shear's role will be now that Altman is back. Shear, a native of Seattle, Washington, and a graduate of Yale University, was one of the four co-founders of Justin.tv, an early precursor to Twitch. He was also once a Microsoft intern, though it seems he did not enjoy the experience, as he tweeted in July, "When I was interning for Microsoft every paycheck felt like I was getting the payment for a little chunk of my soul in the mail."

Tasha McCauley

In 2018, McCauley became a board member of OpenAI and currently holds the position of chief executive officer at GeoSim Systems, an Israeli-based company specializing in 3D city modeling. Previously, she was the CEO of Fellow Robots, a robotics company, and also worked as an adjunct senior management scientist at the Rand Corporation. Additionally, she sits on the advisory board of the Centre for the Governance of AI and is married to actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. McCauley holds a bachelor's degree from Bard College and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Greg Brockman, the co-founder of OpenAI, left his role as President in protest after Altman's firing and recently joined Microsoft. On Wednesday, he announced his return to OpenAI and plans to resume coding. Despite his exact role remaining unclear, Brockman has an impressive background, having grown up in North Dakota and attending prestigious institutions such as Harvard University and MIT. After working for Stripe and eventually becoming their chief technology officer, he left to start OpenAI with Altman and Musk, receiving investment from notable figures such as Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.

Helen Toner became a member of AI's board in 2021. She holds the position of director of strategy and foundational research grants at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Prior to this, she worked as a senior research analyst at Open Philanthropy, where her focus was on AI policy and strategy. Toner also conducted research on China's AI ecosystem while living in Beijing as a researcher with the Centre for the Governance of AI, an organization for which she also serves on the advisory board. She holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and a master's degree in security studies from Georgetown.

Supporting cast of characters

Joshua Kushner

Kushner is the head of VC firm Thrive Capital and a significant tech investor. Reports suggest that Thrive was the lead in a funding round in October to acquire OpenAI shares at a price that would value the company at $80 billion. This funding would have also valued shares that OpenAI employees may receive as compensation. Kushner is related to Jared Kushner and married to supermodel Karlie Kloss. His father, Charles Kushner, was pardoned by then-president Donald Trump in 2020 after pleading guilty to tax evasion and illegal campaign donations. Kushner is a co-founder of Oscar Health and a minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. He is a Harvard College and Harvard Business School alum.

has also been appointed to the board. She is an expert in AI and technology, and has previously held roles at Bloomberg Beta and Neuralink. Zilis brings extensive knowledge and expertise in the AI industry to the OpenAI board.

, a former OpenAI board member, left the company in March. According to Musk biographer Walter Isaacson, she is the director at Neuralink, the brain implant start-up founded by Musk, and the mother of two children with the billionaire. In September, she joined the board of directors of Shield AI, a defense technology company focused on developing AI pilot technology for aircraft. Zilis, who was born in Canada, is a graduate of Yale University.

Hurd's tenure on the OpenAI board ended in 2023, after he departed to pursue a Republican presidential campaign. However, he eventually withdrew from the race and threw his support behind Nikki Haley. With a background as a former Texas congressman and CIA officer, Hurd had joined OpenAI while working at Allen & Company, where he was recognized for his expertise in public policy. He hails from Texas and holds a degree in computer science from Texas A&M University, where he was also elected student body president.

Elon Musk and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman have a history together, having both been part of the PayPal founding team. Hoffman recently left OpenAI's board citing conflicts of interest and his company, Inflection AI, has unveiled a new chatbot named Pi. Hoffman is also an early investor in OpenAI and has been a tech investor and partner at Greylock Partners for the past 14 years. He currently sits on the board of several companies, including Microsoft. Hoffman holds a bachelors from Stanford University and a masters from Oxford in philosophy.

Elon Musk, a co-founder and former board member of OpenAI, departed in 2018 due to a conflict of interest with Tesla. Musk has since voiced concerns about the potential dangers of AI to society and the risk of Microsoft taking control of the company. As one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, Musk heads multiple companies, including SpaceX, Tesla, the Boring Company, and the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). Musk has been involved in various disputes with individuals involved in the OpenAI controversy, publicly clashing with Altman over the future of AI. "What tangled webs we weave," he commented on X, shortly after Altman's return to OpenAI was announced early Wednesday morning.

This is a developing story and will be continually updated.