The Doomed Mission Behind Sam Altman’s Shock Ouster From OpenAI
The company couldn’t balance nonprofit goals with an expensive business and billions in commercial ties
Sam Altman touted OpenAI’s accomplishments during the company’s DevDay event on Nov. 6. He was fired eleven days later.
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesHealthy companies led by competent, commercially successful and globally beloved founders generally don’t tend to fire them. And, as Sam Altman walked on stage in San Francisco on Nov. 6, all those things could have described his role at OpenAI.
The co-founder and chief executive officer had kicked off a global race for artificial intelligence supremacy, helped OpenAI surpass much larger competitors, and was, by this point, regularly compared to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Eleven days later he would be fired — kicking off a chaotic weekend during which executives and investors loyal to Altman were agitating for his return. The board ignored them, and hired Emmett Shear, the former Twitch CEO, instead. Nearly all OpenAI employees then threatened to quit and follow Altman out of the company.