ChatGPT maker fires CEO for being ‘not consistently candid’ with board

November 18, 2023 — 5.12am

The board of ChatGPT-maker Open AI says it has pushed out its co-founder and chief executive officer Sam Altman after a review found he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board.

“The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” the company said in a statement on its blog on Friday.

Ousted: ChatGPT co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman.Credit: Eamon Gallagher

“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 company added that it was grateful for Sam’s “many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI”.

“At the same time, we believe new leadership is necessary as we move forward.

It has appointed Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, to an interim CEO role effective immediately.

In a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, Altman said he loved his time at OpenAI.

“It was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. Most of all, I loved working with such talented people. Will have more to say about what’s next later,” he said, before signing off with a saluting emoji.

US entrepreneur, investor and software developer Greg Brockman will also be stepping down as chairman of the board and will remain in his role at the company, reporting to the chief executive.

OpenAI is a leading player in AI, and has been in talks to sell employee shares to investors at a valuation of $US86 billion ($132 billion) – a figure that would make the company one of the largest startups in the world.

Its popular products, like ChatGPT and Dall-E, introduced generative AI into the mainstream. Generative AI is technology that trains on vast swathes of digital data and can produce human-like content such as images, text and code when prompted.

Founded in 2015, the company released ChatGPT about a year ago, setting off a rush of interest in AI technology. About 100 million people use ChatGPT each week, the company said in November, and more than 90 per cent of Fortune 500 businesses are building tools on OpenAI’s platform.

The company provides its software to businesses, and is on track to have annual revenue of about $US1 billion ($1.5 billion), Bloomberg reported in August.

At the same time, OpenAI is facing growing competition from well-funded rival products developed at other startups and tech giants, including at Alphabet’s Google.

AP and Bloomberg