Sam Altman Out at OpenAI ‘Effective Immediately’

For much of the last two years, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had looked poised to dominate the technology world for the coming decade—the AI era’s Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, or Mark Zuckerberg.

But in a news release that can only be described as completely shocking, ChatGPT maker OpenAI announced on Friday afternoon that Altman would be departing the company “effective immediately,” after a “deliberative review” of his past communication, meaning he will no longer serve as CEO or  be on the board.

The decision was made by the OpenAI board, which includes Ilya Sutskever—the company's co-founder and Chief Scientist—as well as Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner from the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology.  The news does not seem to have been planned for long, as the company chief technology officer, Mira Murati, will serve as CEO until a permanent replacement is found. 

Altman is leaving OpenAI, which has developed internal AI sensations DALL-E and ChatGPT, after the board discovered that he “was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.” As a result, the board “no longer” had confidence in its CEO. 

“We are grateful for Sam’s many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI,” said in a prepared statement. “At the same time, we believe new leadership is necessary as we move forward.”