Sam Altman returns to OpenAI as CEO days after being fired by board

Company agrees in principle to partly reconstitute the board of directors that had fired him

Sam Altman was ousted by the company on Friday after the board found he was not consistently candid in his communications. AFP

ChatGPT developer OpenAI on Wednesday said it has reached an agreement for Sam Altman to return as the company's chief executive, following days of intense discussions.

Mr Altman was ousted by the company on Friday after the board found he was not consistently candid in his communications.

OpenAI agreed in principle to partly reconstitute the board of directors that had fired him.

"We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo," OpenAI said on social media platform X. "We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this."

The company said that former US treasury secretary Larry Summers and former salesforce co-chief executive Bret Taylor will join Adam D'Angelo, Quora chief executive and current director.

On Monday, OpenAI appointed ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as its interim chief executive. Mr Altman, meanwhile, was appointed by Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.

OpenAI's staff reportedly threatened to quit and join Mr Altman at Microsoft's new AI unit unless the board resigned, mounting pressure on the company.

"I'm looking forward to returning to openai," Mr Altman said in a post on X on Wednesday.

"i love openai, and everything i’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. when i decided to join msft [Microsoft] on sun[day] evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft."

Microsoft, OpenAI's biggest backer that had pledged a reported $10 billion to boost the company, said it remained committed to the company. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella on Monday had said that ousted Mr Altman and former OpenAI president Greg Brockman will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.

"Returning to OpenAI & getting back to coding tonight," Mr Brockman wrote on X on Wednesday. "Amazing progress made today. We will come back stronger & more unified than ever."

The generative AI start-up has found itself at the centre of corporate drama these past few days.

Mr Shear, after three days in his role as OpenAI's interim boss, wrote on X on Wednesday: "I am deeply pleased by this result, after ... 72 very intense hours of work."

"Coming into OpenAI, I wasn’t sure what the right path would be. This was the pathway that maximized safety alongside doing right by all stakeholders involved. I’m glad to have been a part of the solution."