Explained: How OpenAI's boardroom coup was defeated by Sam Altman, AI world's disruptor-in-chief

OpenAI and its powerful CEO Sam Altman, the creator of ChatGPT, have been making headlines for disrupting the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and bringing technological advances to a never-known pedestal.

However, on November 17, the dysfunctional corporate relations of OpenAI's boardroom came into public view after Altman was fired by four of its members over a 'quick' call on Google Meet.

The sudden dismissal of the man at the helm was followed by five turbulent days as nearly 770 employees of the company were rallied by Altman for his reinstatement and the resignation of the entire board.

On Tuesday night (Nov 21), 38-year-old Altman made a shocking comeback to the company and replaced almost the entire board which once ousted him and cemented his position at the helm of OpenAI.

Who is Sam Altman – the poster boy of AI?

Sam Altman is one of the co-founders of OpenAI, which is the company that created the chatbot ChatGPT and is based in San Francisco. Altman came into the spotlight after the ChatGPT's explosion since it arrived a year ago and generative AI, which had the capability to produce passages of text, novel imagery and other media, saw its rapid commercialisation.

In no time, Altman became the most sought-after voice of Silicon Valley on the potential dangers and benefits of this technology.  OpenAI was transformed into a world-renowned startup by Altman.

Also read: ChatGPT makers Sam Altman, Greg Brockman fired over 'quick' call on Google Meet

Altman even received $1 billion from Microsoft in funding, as the Big Tech giant agreed to licence and commercialise some of the technology of OpenAI.

Even after a for-profit subsidiary's establishment, OpenAI worked continuously towards its core mission: to control the development of artificial general intelligence to “benefit all humanity”.

Why Altman had a fallout with other board members?

The sudden success of ChatGPT was reported to have sparked tensions among the top leadership of OpenAI. As per the media reports, board members like one of the co-founders and AI researcher Ilya Sutskever grew increasingly worried about their technology posing potential dangers to society.

The members also felt that Altman was not looking into these risks and was more concerned about growing the business of OpenAI.

The rift in the boardroom culminated in a coup on November 18 as Altman was ousted. The board of directors of OpenAI had the power to decide the leadership of the company without any influence from its investors, which gave them the autonomy to kick out Altman.

Sutskever along with other board members which included Adam D’Angelo (CEO of Q&A forum Quora), Helen Toner (an AI safety researcher at Georgetown University), and Tasha McCauley (entrepreneur) sacked Altman, who was also a board member but lacked the majority needed for overturning the decision.

President, co-founder of OpenAI and board member Greg Brockman, who was not a part of the decision-making process, also quit after Altman's dismissal.

Also read: OpenAI's board which sacked Sam Altman replaced, except for one

The board stated that after a review they found that Altman was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board. “The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” the artificial intelligence company said in a statement.

The statement further said that the behaviour of the CEO was “hindering” the ability of the board to exercise its responsibilities.

How did Sam Altman return to OpenAI within five days?

Soon after Altman was fired, more than 500 of 770 employees of OpenAI signed an open letter which called for the resignation of the board. The board was accused in the letter of being “incapable of overseeing OpenAI”.

“We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees,” it added. The signatories threatened to resign and instead work for Altman and Microsoft's newly formed subsidiary.

Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella extended support to Altman after his firing. The board members of OpenAI rejected any pressure to reverse the decision from Microsoft and other investors.

On November 20, Nadella announced that both Altman and Brockman will be heading a new advanced AI research team at Microsoft. “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," announced Nadella.

Watch: Sam Altman to launch new AI firm?

Microsoft is the largest investor in OpenAI with a stake worth more than $10 billion. Former Twitch boss Emmett Shear was appointed as interim CEO of OpenAI on November 20.

The OpenAI saga came to an end on November 22 after the announcement of the return of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. "We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo," said the company in a post on X.

After the announcement, Nadella said that this is "a first essential step" to build a "more stable, well-informed, and effective governance" in OpenAI. A full stop was placed to the chaotic period with the dismissal of almost all the board members who participated in the coup.

(With inputs from agencies)