CTO Mira Murati played an important role in Sam Altman’s ouster from OpenAI: Report

A report from an outside law firm is expected to shed light on how the board of directors at OpenAI decided to oust founder Sam Altman in the high-voltage drama that took place nearly three months ago. The report is expected to reveal details about the chaotic five days in which Sam Altman was away from the company. 

According to a report in the New York Times, OpenAI’s chief technology officer Mira Murati played a role in the ouster of Altman. Murati had written a private memo raising questions about Altman’s management. She also shared her concerns with the board that eventually helped propel the board’s decision to oust him, the report states. Murati had stepped in as the interim CEO after Altman’s short-lived ouster. He was reinstated as the CEO of OpenAI five days after the ouster.

Around the time Murati flagged her concerns, OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever expressed similar worries, the report stated. People said that Sutskever expressed concerns about Altman’s “history of manipulative behaviour”. 

Both Murati and Sutskever expressed a hot-and-cold relationship with Altman. They said that Altman created a toxic environment by freezing out executives who did not support his decisions. 

Murati had described what some considered to be Altman’s playbook, which included manipulating executives to get what he wanted. She had said that Altman would tell people what they wanted to hear to charm them and then if they took too long or didn’t go with his plans, he would try to undermine their credibility. She had informed the board that she sent a private memo to Altman, expressing some of her concerns. The board was reportedly concerned that if Murati and Sutskever’s concerns were not addressed then they would leave the company.

The law firm WilmerHale that is conducting the investigation is expected to wrap up the process soon. OpenAI is also expected to announce a new board of directors, even though several directors left the board once Altman was reinstated.

An OpenAI spokeswoman said that Murati during her time as interim CEO, along with the senior leadership team, asked for Altman’s return unanimously. Ninety-six per cent of OpenAI’s employees also asked for his return in an open letter.

Murati, after the New York Times article, said in a message to OpenAI employees that she and Altman “have a strong and productive partnership” and that she has not been shy about sharing her feedback with him directly. She said that when individual board members reached out directly to her for feedback about Sam Altman, she provided it and that Altman knew about it all.