Sam Altman and OpenAI’s board have begun discussions to bring back their former CEO, and the startup’s backer Microsoft is discussing plans to request the board for a governance change, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing sources. doing.
According to a report by Bloomberg, discussions are underway between Altman and at least one member of the board, namely Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo. The sources familiar with the matter have revealed this information.
Altman may return as a director on a transitional board and some investors in artificial intelligence startups are also involved in talks.
ChatGPIT’s owner fired Altman in a surprise move on Friday and before the weekend was out, OpenAI investor Microsoft hired him and another co-founder of the startup, Greg Brockman.
But things appeared untenable, as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told the media on Monday, “No matter where Sam is, he’s working with Microsoft” and that governance at OpenAI needed to change.
Bloomberg said the changes Microsoft plans to ask of OpenAI’s board could include increasing the size of the board and boosting the experience level required for members.
In addition to Quora’s D’Angelo, OpenAI’s four-person board as of Friday included Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner and OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever.
Bloomberg said Microsoft’s deal with OpenAI requires the startup’s board to seek Microsoft’s approval for the merger, and the software giant will look to strengthen those protections.
OpenAI remained silent on the issue despite multiple requests for comment from Reuters.
Altman’s removal sparked a revolt within the company. Nearly all of its more than 700 employees threatened to walk off the job in a letter demanding the board’s resignation and the reinstatement of Altman and Brockman.
Nadella has said he is open to employees staying at OpenAI or coming to the Windows maker.
OpenAI’s interim CEO Emmett Shear has told people close to the company that he has no plans to stay at the company if the board can’t clearly explain the reason for ousting Altman, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Some investors in OpenAI are considering suing the company’s board, sources told Reuters on Monday, with concerns that they could lose their invested millions with the potential collapse of the hottest startup in the fast-growing generative AI field. May lose dollars.