CEO Sam Altman Fired By OpenAI Board In Surprise Move

The board of directors at artificial intelligence startup OpenAI announced on Friday that it has fired CEO Sam Altman and replaced him with Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati on an interim basis.

"Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI," the board said in a blog post.

Altman, one of the most high-profile figures in the generative AI field, co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and served as its CEO since its inception. However, the board said it lost confidence in his ability to lead the company going forward due to a lack of candour in his communications with directors.

Murati, who joined OpenAI in 2018 and oversaw the launch of products like conversational AI ChatGPT, will now take over as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement.

The abrupt change in management stunned many employees, who were only notified of Altman's departure and Murati's appointment through an internal announcement and public blog post from the board on Friday afternoon.

Under Altman's leadership, OpenAI received billions in funding from strategic partner Microsoft and launched technologies like ChatGPT that quickly gained widespread popularity. However, the board said it believes "new leadership is necessary as we move forward" in the company's mission to ensure AI benefits humanity.

With Altman's high-profile exit, it remains to be seen how the change may impact OpenAI's research and commercialization efforts.