OpenAI brings back CEO days after ouster

The ousted leader of the company that makes ChatGPT will return after being fired just days ago, concluding a short but chaotic power struggle that shocked the tech industry and underscored the conflicts around how to safely build artificial intelligence.

San Francisco-based company OpenAI said late Tuesday it “reached an agreement in principle” for co-founder Sam Altman to return as CEO under a different board of directors.

The agreement followed intense negotiations that began Saturday between Altman’s side and the board members who pushed him out.

An independent investigation into Altman and the events that led to his ouster, announced earlier this week, will continue, according to the person, who described board members’ slow erosion of trust in the OpenAI leader without pointing to any serious wrongdoing. The company previously made unspecified allegations Altman had not been candid with the board.

The lack of transparency surrounding Altman’s firing led to a weekend of internal conflict at the company and growing outside pressure from the startup’s investors, particularly Microsoft, which on Monday hired Altman and a key ally, OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman, and opened its doors to any of the other more than 700 employees who wanted to join them.

The turmoil accentuated the differences between Altman — who has become the face of generative AI’s rapid commercialization since ChatGPT’s arrival a year ago — and board members who have expressed deep reservations about the safety risks posed by AI as it gets more advanced.