OpenAI employees threaten to quit and join Microsoft following Sam Altman's ousting

A significant number of OpenAI employees on Monday expressed their intention to resign and join Microsoft, following the footsteps of company co-founder Sam Altman.

In a letter addressed to OpenAI’s board and initially disclosed to Wired, some of the company’s senior staff members, including Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever and top executive Mira Murati, threatened to depart if the board was not replaced.

The letter accused the board of incompetence, stating, “Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI.”

It also mentioned that Microsoft had assured them of positions at the new subsidiary if they chose to join. Reports indicated that up to 500 of OpenAI’s 770 employees signed the letter, according to AFP.

Despite pressure from Microsoft and other major investors to reinstate Altman, OpenAI appointed Emmett Shear, former CEO of Amazon’s Twitch, as its new CEO.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirmed Altman’s move to lead a new advanced AI research team at Microsoft, along with OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and other colleagues.

Altman gained prominence with the launch of ChatGPT, which triggered a surge in AI research and investment. His dismissal led to several high-profile departures from OpenAI, and investors reportedly advocated for his return.

OpenAI defended its decision, stating in a memo that “Sam’s behavior and lack of transparency undermined the board’s ability to effectively supervise the company.”

In a post on X, Shear confirmed his interim CEO appointment, refuting reports that Altman was fired over AI safety concerns. He mentioned, “The board did not remove Sam over any specific disagreement on safety, their reasoning was completely different from that.”

Shear acknowledged the mishandling of the process and communication surrounding Altman’s removal, expressing concern about the damage to trust.

With inputs from agencies