OpenAI staff threaten mass exodus to join ex-CEO Altman

SAN FRANCISCO: Hundreds of staff at OpenAI threatened to quit the leading artificial intelligence company on Monday and join Microsoft, deepening a crisis triggered by the shock sacking of CEO Sam Altman.

In a fast-moving sequence of events, Altman, who was ousted by the board on Friday, has now been hired by Microsoft where he will take the lead in developing a new advanced AI research team.

There was talk Monday that OpenAI is interested in Altman returning, and that he may be open to the idea under certain conditions.

“We want to partner with Open AI and we want to partner with Sam so irrespective of where Sam is he’s working with Microsoft,” chief executive Satya Nadella said in a streamed Bloomberg interview.

“That was the case on Friday. That’s the case today. And we absolutely believe that will be the case tomorrow.”

In a letter released to media, the vast majority of OpenAI’s 770-strong staff suggested they would follow Altman unless the board responsible for his departure resigned.

“Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI,” the letter said. “Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join.”

A key AI executive at Microsoft confirmed that they all were welcome from OpenAI if the board that removed Altman doesn’t resign.

Among the signatories was co-founder Ilya Sutskever, the company’s chief scientist and a member of the four-person board who pushed Altman out.

“I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions,” Sutskever said in a post on X, formally Twitter. “I never meant to harm OpenAI.”

Another signatory was top executive Mira Murati, who was appointed to replace Altman as CEO when he was removed on Friday, but didn’t last the weekend in the job. “We are all going to work together some way or other, and I’m so excited,” Altman said on X.

OpenAI has appointed Emmett Shear, a former chief executive of Amazon’s streaming platform Twitch, as its new CEO despite pressure from Microsoft and other major investors to reinstate Altman.