OpenAI Fires CEO Sam Altman

Sam Altman has been fired as the CEO of OpenAI, the company announced today. Altman has been the face of the popular ChatGPT service since 2020.

In a press release posted to the company's blog, OpenAI says that Altman will depart as CEO and leave the board of directors, with CTO Mira Murati taking over as interim CEO, effective immediately. The board says the dismissal of Altman follows a deliberate review process.

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.


In a statement, the board of directors said: "OpenAI was deliberately structured to advance our mission: to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity. The board remains fully committed to serving this mission. We are 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. As the leader of the company's research, product, and safety functions, Mira is exceptionally qualified to step into the role of interim CEO. We have the utmost confidence in her ability to lead OpenAI during this transition period."

OpenAI's board of directors consists of OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology's Helen Toner.

As a part of this transition, Greg Brockman will be stepping down as chairman of the board and will remain in his role at the company, reporting to the CEO.

We've yet to see a statement from Altman on the dismissal. Please download the iClarified app or follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS for updates.