Nearly all of OpenAI’s employees have recently signed a letter threatening to quit and join a new business venture headed by Sam Altman, the company’s fired CEO. Approximately 95% of the company’s workforce, or 738 out of 770 total employees, are now included in the letter released earlier today.
The letter demands that Sam Altman be restored along with his fellow cofounder of OpenAI and close associate Greg Brockman. It also demands that the board that dismissed Altman and demoted Brockman from chairship step down and nominate new board members.
After a shocking weekend of boardroom turmoil that rocked Silicon Valley, Altman, after his departure from OpenAI was disclosed on Friday, started working at Microsoft early on Monday.
After reports surfaced that Sam Altman might make a spectacular comeback to the firm he helped transform into one of the hottest companies in the world, the tech giant announced early on Monday that Altman will manage a new artificial intelligence project at Microsoft.
Additionally, the staff threatened to leave ChatGPT and join the recently established Microsoft subsidiary, which is led by Altman and Brockman. They claimed to have gotten promises from Microsoft that all OpenAI personnel would have jobs there.
Signatories to the statement were OpenAI’s chief technology officer Mira Murati, who was temporarily appointed interim CEO, and Ilya Sutskever, a board member suspected of being involved in Altman’s abrupt resignation on Friday.
Sam Altman appeared to be on the verge of reclaiming his job during a dramatic weekend that captured the attention of the IT community. He went to the company’s headquarters to talk about the prospect. Following the breakdown of talks, Microsoft declared that Altman and Brockman would be joining a new division to focus on artificial intelligence.
Emmett Shear, the interim CEO of OpenAI who had previously led Amazon’s Twitch streaming business, took over for interim CEO Mira Murati, who had been the company’s CTO.
The announcement was made by co-founder and former CEO of Twitch, Emmett Shear, that he will take over as interim CEO of OpenAI.
Founded in 2015 with funding from many internet billionaires, OpenAI has become the front-runner of a new wave of AI technology, which is typified by the chatbot software ChatGPT. Nearly precisely a year ago, the app shot to fame, showcasing the enormous advancements in AI and making OpenAI the trendiest tech firm globally.
The abrupt departure of Altman, Brockman, and other prominent OpenAI researchers raises concerns about what lies ahead for a business that has become one of the most valuable digital firms globally thanks to its incredible growth.
The corporation will be a shell of what it once was, according to Sarah Kreps, Cornell University‘s Tech Policy Institute’s director, if the designers, visionaries, and minds behind these products have since left. Sarah went on to say that with all of that brain trust moving to Microsoft, these amazing capabilities will eventually come from Microsoft. It will be challenging to watch OpenAI’s business growth continue.
Sam Altman Announced Some Plans
Earlier this month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced live on stage in San Francisco that ChatGPT, the startup that launched a new era of AI a year ago, now had 100 million weekly users.
To encourage the widespread adoption of the ground-breaking technology, he also said that the company would introduce an AI app store and cut the cost of its software in half. Every time he spoke, Altman paused to allow the cheers to subside.
The 38-year-old businessman, who was instrumental in creating the multibillion-dollar generative AI sector, may now decide the direction of the industry as his own life is in jeopardy.
Also Read: Meet Emmett Shear, the Interim CEO of OpenAI, a “Highly Intelligent, Socially Awkward Person
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