The suspense over Sam Altman’s return as the CEO of OpenAI continued on Monday as OpenAI leaders and investors sought to reinstate Altman at the company which unceremoniously sacked him on November 17.
The final negotiations were still on between Altman and the company, with one big condition that the existing board (who fired him) had to step down, reports The Verge.Altman had once again set a 5 p.m. PT (6.30 a.m. India time) deadline on Sunday for the OpenAI board to resolve the situation.
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella was reportedly mediating the discussion between Altman, former OpenAI President Greg Brockman, and the current board members as they attempt to select a new board.
“If a deal isn’t reached, things will take a different path,” the report mentioned. OpenAI’s current board consists of chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, former GeoSim Systems CEO Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner, the director of strategy at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
Sutskever, who also co-founded OpenAI, was instrumental in the ousting of Altman, according to reports. After creating a high-voltage drama after abruptly sacking Altman, the OpenAI board started discussions with him to return to the company as CEO.
However, Altman, who was fired by the board on a video call, was earlier “ambivalent” about coming back and sought key governance changes.