Rumor has it OpenAI to take back Altman to save $86b share sale
ALBAWABA – Rumor has it a $86 billion employee share sale hangs in the balance after OpenAI fired CEO Sam Altman and several high-level executives left the company, news agencies reported.
Microsoft and several other investors have urged the company to take back the sacked CEO and have embarked on a campaign to replace the company’s board.
Notably, Microsoft is OpenAI’s biggest backer, with a $10 billion stake, alongside Thrive Capital and Tiger Global Management, who are also working to bring back Altman, according to Bloomberg.
The $86 billion employee share sale, via tender offer led by Thrive Capital, has not yet closed. It is in its final stages and is expected to be finalized next month, Reuters reported via Information.
Moreover, Greg Brockman, OpenAI president and co-founder, who stepped down from the board as chairman, as part of the management shuffle, quit the company.
Rumor has it: OpenAI to take back Altman, the creator of ChatGPT - Shutterstock
The departures blindsided many employees who discovered the abrupt management change from an internal message and the company's public blog.
The OpenAI board has been subjected to intense criticism over its decision to remove Altman, which came as a surprise to both investors and to Altman himself, according to Reuters.
Altman pushed hard over the years to change the company from a nonprofit to a commercially successful business. He was the driving force behind new tools that have revolutionized the way people complete tasks from homework to coding, including ChatGPT. His ouster did not sit well with the firms that backed OpenAI.
Sources told Reuters Altman is open to returning to the company. However, they said if he were to return, he would ask for changes in the way the company is governed.
If he does not return, Altman – dubbed a serial entrepreneur – has been considering launching a new venture, possibly with former staffers of OpenAI, according to Bloomberg. In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla said that his firm wanted Altman “back at OpenAI but will back him in whatever he does next.”
