After its meteoric rise owing to kick-starting the rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence, OpenAI has found itself at the centre of corporate drama.
Suddenly gone is Sam Altman, who was chief executive of the Microsoft-backed company and led the sensational rise of ChatGPT.
His departure raises questions about what's happening at one of the world's most influential technology organisations, and its trajectory.
Why was Sam Altman ousted?
Mr Altman's removal came as a surprise, especially considering the momentum he has built – becoming not only the face of the California-based company, but of the AI industry's boom.
He had also become the go-to voice for the industry, with his views on AI development and regulation seen as a guide to the future of the beneficial yet polarising industry.
OpenAI was a bit vague with its reasons for removing Mr Altman, primarily pointing to his lack of candour. Its statement, posted on its website late on Friday, was unflattering to say the least.
“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,” it said.
And then there was the parting shot: “The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”
His dismissal was also reportedly because of arguments within OpenAI that the company wasn't developing its AI products safely enough. OpenAI has yet to respond to any media queries regarding the situation.
After Mr Altman's firing, the company held an all-hands meeting, in which some employees said OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever may have felt Mr Altman was “moving too quickly to commercialise software at the expense of potential safety concerns”, The Information reported.
Mr Sutskever, crucially, was the person who informed Mr Altman of his ousting, after the latter was invited to a video meeting on Friday.
Mr Altman has only reacted on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying that he “loved my time” at OpenAI, while leaving a cryptic message.
“Today was a weird experience in many ways. But one unexpected one is that it has been sorta like reading your own eulogy while you’re still alive,” he said.
OpenAI has appointed chief technology officer Mira Murati as its interim chief executive as the company searches for a permanent successor to Mr Altman.
Has this caused any ripple effect within OpenAI?
Yes – and, as of Saturday, it seems to be growing.
Following Mr Altman's dismissal, OpenAI said that Greg Brockman was stepping down as its chairman, but would remain as president and directly report to the board.
However, Mr Brockman decided to leave the company altogether and shortly thereafter posted on X that, “based on today's news, I quit”.
OpenAI’s board of directors comprises Quora chief executive Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, the Georgetown Centre for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner and Mr Sutskever.
And on Saturday, The Information reported that three senior researchers – research director Jakub Pachocki, AI risks evaluator Aleksander Madry and researcher Szymon Sidorhave – also quit.
Their departures are a “sign of immense disappointment among some employees” after Mr Altman was booted out, it said.
OpenAI has not confirmed any of these departures.
After Mr Altman's firing, there seemed to have been unrest within the company:
How has Microsoft reacted?
Microsoft, OpenAI's biggest backer that had pledged a reported $10 billion to boost the company, said it remained committed to the company.
However, the Windows developer was blindsided by Mr Altman's departure, having been informed only about, 10 minutes before OpenAI broke the news, persons familiar with the situation said.
Shortly after OpenAI's announcement, Microsoft released a brief statement from its chairman and chief executive Satya Nadella, who delivered a vote of confidence in OpenAI amid its leadership change – without any mention of Mr Altman.
“We have a long-term agreement with OpenAI with full access to everything we need to deliver on our innovation agenda and an exciting product road map; and remain committed to our partnership, and to Mira and the team,” the statement read.
“Together, we will continue to deliver the meaningful benefits of this technology to the world.”
What could be next for OpenAI?
While indeed there are questions being raised on how OpenAI's strategy will move forward with Mr Altman gone, analysts say that the sudden decision isn't likely to affect its business.
“This seems to be a case of an executive transition that was about issues with the individual in question, and not with the underlying technology or business,” said Rowan Curran, an analyst at Forrester Research.
And while Mr Altman's exit was “shocking”, OpenAI still boasts a “deep bench” capable of driving the business forward, said Arun Chandrasekaran, an analyst at Gartner, who was “sure” that the company had taken the decision “after a lot of deliberation”.
“OpenAI does have a deep bench of technical leaders and it will be interesting to see how its next generation of leaders steer by continuing its fast paced innovation culture, scaling the business and meeting the expectations of regulators and society at large.”
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
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“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
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The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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