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Microsoft on Monday hired Sam Altman and Greg Brockman for its AI advanced research team, effectively overriding OpenAI's distrust in the two top leaders, one of whom was fired and the other resigned as chairperson of the non-profit firm.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella broke the news on X, days after the quasi-coup at OpenAI which sent the tech chat in tizzy on social media -- at one point rife with speculations that OpenAI was regretting the move and was in the process to undo it by taking Altman back.
As it happened, OpenAI on Monday, having since appointing chief technology officer Mira Murati its interim CEO, finally threw its lot in favor of Emmett Shear, the 40-year-old ex-boss of Twitch, by bringing him as Altman's replacement.
"We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners. We look forward to getting to know Emmett Shear and OAI's new leadership team and working with them.
"And we’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success," Nadella said on X.
Altman, the man generally seen as the factor behind OpenAI's success, responded: "The mission continues."
Shear, in his turn, vowed to dig behind the Friday head-roll, which he said has been damaging for the company.
"OpenAI employees are extremely impressive, as you might have guessed, and mission-driven in the extreme. And it’s clear that the process and communications around Sam’s removal has been handled very badly, which has seriously damaged our trust," said the recent father to a boy – the reason why he quit as Twitch CEO.
Shear on X said he will in the next 30 days hire an "independent investigator" to dig into what transpired behind the curtains that led to the culling of the top leadership, speak to employees and investors, and "reform" the management and leadership teams.
"Depending on the results everything we learn from these, I will drive changes in the organization — up to and including pushing strongly for significant governance changes if necessary. I will be rolling these out as they become clear over the 30 day period.
"OpenAI’s stability and success are too important to allow turmoil to disrupt them like this. I will endeavor to address the key concerns as well, although in many cases I believe it may take longer than a month to achieve true progress," he said in a lengthy post on X.
OpenAI, the firm that made ChatGPT, had on Friday fired its CEO Sam Altman saying he was not consistently candid with the company board.
The firm also removed its chairperson Greg Brockman from the board through a communication Friday but said he will still retain his role at the company.
Microsoft is said to be a major investor in OpenAI, founded as a non-proft in 2015.
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