Executive Sam Altman, one of the founders of the artificial intelligence company OpenAI, is negotiating with the board to return as its top executive after his surprise dismissal last Friday, according to US media.
Altman, who has become the visible face of the company that develops the popular AI ‘chatbot’ ChatGPT, has the support of several investors, according to publications The New York Timeswhich cites sources close to the conversations.
Also negotiating his return is Greg Brockman, who until Friday was a director of OpenAI’s board but who resigned after hearing the news of Altman’s dismissal.
Still, sources indicate there is no guarantee the executives will return to the company.
Among the investors who support Altman’s return is Microsoft, which has invested several billion dollars in the company, which it considers its “partner” in the field of artificial intelligence, according to CNBC.
Altman was fired by the OpenAI board on Friday, in what appears to be an internal power struggle that caught the entire Silicon Valley off guard.
In a statement, the board explained that the executive “was not consistently honest in his communications” with the body, which affected his ability “to exercise his responsibilities.”
“The board of directors no longer has confidence in your ability to continue leading OpenAI,” indicated the message, which also named Mira Murati, until now chief technology officer, as interim CEO while the body searches for a permanent candidate.
Altman co-founded and co-chaired OpenAI alongside Elon Musk, who left the company in 2018.
The company is on the crest of the wave of advances in generative artificial intelligence since it launched ChatGPT a year ago, a ‘chatbot’ that went viral for its ability to converse with human users.
It is structured as a non-profit company and governed by an independent majority board of directors, that is, without participation in the capital, so investors do not have decision-making power, at least officially.
