OpenAI’s New Leadership: Sam Altman Joins Microsoft, Emmett Shear Appointed CEO
OpenAI has announced that Emmett Shear, the former boss of Twitch, will replace Sam Altman as the company’s leader. Altman will be joining Microsoft, the top backer of OpenAI, to head up a new advanced AI research team, as stated by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a social media post on Sunday.
Nadella expressed excitement about working with Shear and the new leadership team at OpenAI, emphasizing Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to its partnership with the company. Shear has been named interim CEO, according to a source familiar with the appointment.
The decision to appoint Shear instead of reinstating Altman has raised concerns among investors and employees, who fear a talent exodus and the impact on an upcoming $86 billion share sale. Meanwhile, Altman had been in discussions about returning to OpenAI and potentially launching a new AI venture.
Altman is accompanied by Greg Brockman, who stepped down as chairman of the OpenAI board. Both executives met with company staff on Sunday after then-interim CEO Mira Murati extended an invitation, as reported by The Information.
Brockman will also be joining Microsoft, according to Nadella. Altman shared a photo of himself on social media wearing an OpenAI guest badge with the caption “first and last time i ever wear one of these,” and reshared Nadella’s message with a comment “the mission continues.”
Emmett Shear co-founded Twitch and has previously served as its CEO. Brockman’s departure has surprised many employees who discovered the sudden management change from an internal message and the company’s public blog. In response to the CEO change, researchers, including Szymon Sidor, have left the company.
Shear’s appointment as interim CEO led to a significant number of OpenAI employees quitting the company. The news has reverberated through the tech world, with employees expressing their concerns about the company’s future.
OpenAI is the organization behind the release of ChatGPT, initiating a generative AI trend a year ago. The chatbot quickly gained traction, becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing software applications.
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