Sam Altman will not return to OpenAI; former Twitch chief Emmett Shear to be new interim CEO

Sam Altman will no longer return as the CEO of OpenAI, according to a report by The Information. The former head of Twitch, Emmett Shear, will take over as the temporary CEO. This information was shared by Ilya Sutskever, a director on the board of OpenAI, with the company's employees. Shear, who helped start Twitch, had left his position at the live video streaming service owned by Amazon.com Inc. earlier this year. Earlier last week, OpenAI has appointed Mira Murati as the interim replacement of Sam Altman. However, the appointment of Shear indicates that Murati will be one of the departures at OpenAI. 

Altman will not be returning to his position despite the company’s attempts to bring him back. Altman and Greg Brockman, the former president of OpenAI, were seen at the company’s San Francisco headquarters after interim CEO Mira Murati invited Altman. Altman was reportedly considering a return to OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT bot. The tech titan has also been contemplating the launch of a new AI venture.

OpenAI employees quit after appointment of Shear

Many OpenAI employees announced on Sunday night that they were leaving the company. This news came after Ilya Sutskever, a board director and the chief scientist at OpenAI, told them that Sam Altman, the former CEO who was let go, would not be coming back. This could make it difficult for the company to progress after the surprising dismissal. It could also alter the direction of the artificial intelligence industry and give a boost to competitors like Google, who have been trying to recruit OpenAI staff in the past two days.

When it all began

The tech industry was taken aback when Altman, often seen as the face of generative AI, was dismissed by the company’s board. Altman expressed his sentiments by posting an image of himself wearing an OpenAI guest badge on a messaging platform, captioning it as the “first and last time” he would wear one. Greg Brockman, the former President of OpenAI also quit soon after the boardroom coup. 

Altman’s dismissal has caused unrest among current and former employees, raising concerns about the potential impact on an upcoming $86 billion share sale. The ouster of Altman is expected to alter the product line-up of OpenAI. The coup comes days after OpenAI conducted its first developer conference called Dev Day. The OpenAI board comprises Adam D’Angelo, Helen Toner, Ilya Sutskever, and Tasha McCauley. 

Read more: Sam Altman won’t return to OpenAI: Employees start quitting in dozens after announcement

Also read: 'First and last time I ever wear one of these': Sam Altman invited to OpenAI office two days after getting fired