Turning the tables
Shortly after Altman's removal from OpenAI, a friend reached out to him. It was Brian Chesky, Airbnb's CEO.
Chesky asked Altman what he could do to help. Altman said he wanted to talk.
When they spoke on Nov. 17, Chesky peppered Altman with questions about why OpenAI's board had terminated him. Altman said he was as uncertain as everyone else.
At the same time, OpenAI's employees were demanding details. The board dialed into a call that afternoon to talk to about 15 OpenAI executives, who crowded into a conference room at the company's offices in San Francisco.
The board members said that Altman had lied to the board but that they couldn't elaborate for legal reasons.
Jason Kwon, OpenAI's chief strategy officer, accused the board of violating its fiduciary responsibilities. “It cannot be your duty to allow the company to die,” he said, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting.
Toner replied, “The destruction of the company could be consistent with the board's mission.”
OpenAI's executives insisted that the board resign that night or they would all leave.
The support gave Altman ammunition. He flirted with creating a new startup, but Chesky and Ron Conway, a Silicon Valley investor and friend, urged Altman to reconsider.
Altman decided to take back what he felt was his.
Even as the board considered bringing Altman back, it wanted concessions. That included bringing on new members who could control Altman. The board encouraged the addition of Bret Taylor, Twitter's former chair. As insurance, the board also sought another interim CEO in case talks with Altman broke down.
Breaking the logjam
At 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 20, D'Angelo was awakened by a phone call from a frightened OpenAI employee. If
D'Angelo didn't step down from the board, the employee said, the company would collapse.
Over the past few hours, D'Angelo realized, things had worsened.
Just before midnight, Nadella had posted on X that he was hiring Altman and Brockman to lead a lab at Microsoft. That morning, more than 700 of OpenAI's 770 employees had also signed a letter saying they might follow Altman to Microsoft unless the board resigned.
One name on the letter stood out: Sutskever, who had changed sides.
OpenAI's viability was in question. The board members had little choice but to negotiate.
To break the impasse, D'Angelo and Altman talked the next day. D'Angelo suggested former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, a professor at Harvard, for the board. Altman liked the idea.
Summers spoke with D'Angelo, Altman, Nadella and others. Each probed him for his views on AI and management, while he asked about OpenAI's tumult. He said he wanted to be sure that he could play the role of a broker.
Summers' addition pushed Altman to abandon his demand for a board seat and agree to an independent investigation of his leadership and dismissal.
By late Nov. 21, they had a deal. Altman would return as CEO, but not to the board. Summers, D'Angelo and Taylor would be board members, with Microsoft eventually joining as a nonvoting observer. Toner, McCauley and Sutskever would leave the board.
This week, Altman and some of his advisers were still fuming. They wanted his name cleared.
“Do u have a plan B to stop the postulation about u being fired its not healthy and its not true!!!,” Conway texted Altman.
Altman said he was working with OpenAI's board: “They really want silence but i think important to address soon.”