Alexander Lewis
Mar 09, 2024
Sam Altman has made a return to the board of OpenAI, the AI company he originally founded, after a brief period of controversy. This comeback occurred nearly four months after Altman was surprisingly removed, only to be quickly reinstated as CEO. His reinstatement was initially overseen by a temporary board during an investigation into his conduct.
OpenAI has now concluded this investigation and expanded its board of directors with three new members: Instacart CEO and ex-Meta executive Fidji Simo, former Sony executive Nicole Seligman, and Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, ex-CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bret Taylor, Salesforce co-CEO, economist Larry Summers, and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, all of whom were part of the temporary board, will continue in their roles, with Taylor as chair.
This development follows a period of uncertainty and upheaval at OpenAI, stemming from the unexpected dismissal of Altman last fall.
On Friday, OpenAI released a summary of an investigation by the law firm WilmerHale, which was appointed in December 2023 to independently investigate the circumstances around Altman's departure.
According to the summary, the investigation found that Altman's firing was not related to concerns about product safety, development pace, financial issues, or communications with investors and partners. Instead, it was attributed to a breakdown in trust and relationship between Altman and the previous board. The investigation pointed out that the prior board acted hastily in dismissing Altman, failing to notify important stakeholders or allow Altman to address the board’s concerns.
WilmerHale's conclusions were drawn from an extensive review of over 30,000 documents and numerous interviews with OpenAI staff, including past board members, conducted over several months.
