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OpenAI, the firm that made ChatGPT, has 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.
Altman was replaced for the interim period by Mira Murati, the company's chief technology officer.
"Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI," the firm said in a statement Friday.
Altman, 38, under his leadership oversaw the roll-out of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, that created a ripple effect with several similar AI tools proliferating in its wake.
The decision apparently coming as a shock to him too, Altman on X wished the firm goodluck but held the details back.
"I loved my time at openai. It was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. Most of all I loved working with such talented people. Will have more to say about what's next later," Altman said.
Brockman, a co-founder and president of OpenAI at the time of his sacking, announced quitting the firm admitting he was "shocked" at the news that was broken to him and Altman Friday afternoon over a Google Meet call.
"Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today. Let us first say thank you to all the incredible people who we have worked with at OpenAI, our customers, our investors, and all of those who have been reaching out," Brockman said on X.
OpenAI was founded as a non-profit in 2015 with Elon Musk as one of its founders and major investor.
According to the company, OpenAI was restructured in 2019 to ensure it could "raise capital" and pursue its mission -- a move Musk took exception to arguing that the company was deviating from its original goals by becoming a "for-profit" entity.
OpenAI’s current board of directors consists of OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner.
Microsoft, the largest investor in OpenAI, with some claiming it owns up to 50 per cent of the firm, had little to say on the overhaul.
"We have a long-term agreement with OpenAI with full access to everything we need to deliver on our innovation agenda and an exciting product roadmap; and remain committed to our partnership, and to Mira and the team.
"Together, we will continue to deliver the meaningful benefits of this technology to the world," Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, said on X, mentioning neither Altman nor Brockman.
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