In case you Missed it, Sam Altman is back as CEO of OpenAI. His reinstatement comes after a whirlwind few days that saw unusual corporate governance lead to an attempt to oust Altman, despite support from both Microsoft and the vast majority of OpenAI’s workforce. While the whole process was incredibly messy, the result looks very likely to be a stronger OpenAI, with new clarity around mission and purpose.
To be clear, nothing about this felt deliberate or strategic: in fact, every twist seems to come shockingly out of nowhere, from Microsoft’s offer to hire Altman and Greg Brockman to the shock of the co-founder’s downfall of Twitch, Emmett Shear. as interim CEO – and who could have predicted the connection of the Harry Potter fan community.
Despite the utter chaos of how we got here, I think the result will ultimately be a much stronger and more unified OpenAI, which, while it doesn’t benefit Microsoft in the same way as acquiring the team, without acquiring the company, means that Satya Nadella and Redmond probably come out in a better position than before.
First, OpenAI’s reformed governance structure will likely be much friendlier to Microsoft, offering it predictability and stability from its key partner in the AI race. Second, Nadella’s guidance and support from Altman and Brockman, and the ultimately winning team comprised of their allies, likely won’t soon be forgotten. Nadella has wisely secured a position as a key ally and confidant to arguably the most powerful person in genetic AI today.
For OpenAI itself, the whole episode led to a “rallying of the troops,” as evidenced by the list of employees who ended up signing the open letter to the board demanding Altman’s return. Ultimately, more than 710 of the company’s 770 employees had signed the letter, which also called for the existing board to resign. It’s possible the number would have been even higher if some of the employees weren’t based on their OpenAI jobs for immigration reasons.
While you can’t really think of this as a pure game approval rating given the polarized circumstances in which it came out, it’s still a hugely important sign of support for Altman’s leadership and philosophy when it comes to OpenAI’s business strategy. The letter and its number of signatories obviously don’t tell the whole story, but moments like these tend to erode small doubts and discrepancies and temper a new unity of purpose for companies with mission-driven values.
Another point in OpenAI’s favor: while Altman is the star of the show, Brockman has also shown amazing leadership and dedication throughout the ordeal, which should earn him extra credit from OpenAI’s employee base. He proudly tweeted about the company’s shipping product updates in the midst of everything going down—even while he wasn’t technically an employee there—and reiterated that commitment to shipping shortly after news of the resolution.
If, as some have speculated, the main reason for the rift between the outgoing board and Altman was concerns about the speed with which OpenAI was moving toward its AGI goal, then the board’s actions did just the opposite intended result. OpenAI has now reformed as a more unified whole, with a clear focus on pursuing Altman’s goals of establishing it as a leader in the emerging artificial intelligence mega-industry.
