Ousted OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, took to X (formerly Twitter) to post a picture of himself at the artificial intelligence firm’s headquarters, following reports of his reinstatement.
“First and last time I ever wear one of these,” Altman wrote on X along with a picture of himself holding a guest ID pass.
The 38-year-old, who co-founded OpenAI that helped launch the popular ChatGPT bot, was sacked on Friday after the company said in a statement that its board had “lost confidence in his ability to lead”.
However, reports this weekend said that OpenAI investors are working to dismantle the firm’s board and bring back Altman as the CEO. The push for his reinstatement involves heavyweight backers such as Microsoft and leading venture capital entities. Additionally, employees of OpenAI are also said to be pushing to bring back Altman.
According to tech news site The Information, Altman and Greg Brockman – another OpenAI co-founder who quit on Friday as the company’s President – were invited to the firm’s headquarters in San Francisco for talks on Sunday.
Brockman resigned hours after the shock dismissal of Altman. He said that Altman was asked to join a quick Google Meet call and was informed of his sacking during that. Brockman himself received a similar message and was informed over a call that he was removed from the board but would retain his role in the company.
OpenAI said that Mira Murati, the 35-year-old Albanian who is considered to be one of the “brains” behind ChatGPT, would take over as the interim CEO until the company finalises a permanent boss.
The Information reported that it was Murati who invited Altman to Sunday’s meeting of executives.
OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon told staffers in a memo on Saturday (November 18) that the company is “optimistic” about bringing back Altman, Brockman and other key employees who quit in the wake of Sam Altman’s shock ouster, according to The Information report.
Altman’s possible return to OpenAI comes amid another report of him working on a new artificial intelligence venture that he is planning to launch. Brockman is expected to join the effort.
Altman, who called his shock dismissal as the OpenAI CEO as a “weird experience”, shared a cryptic post on X on Sunday. Brockman and Murati then joined the thread with heart emojis, increasing the mystery around Altman’s possible return to OpenAI.
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