Microsoft joins OpenAI's board as Sam Altman resumes CEO's role
Sam Altman has officially returned as the CEO of OpenAI. Along with him, Microsoft, with a 49% stake in OpenAI, is also jumping on the nonprofit board as a non-voting observer. The revamped board now includes chair Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo. In a memo to employees, Altman shared his enthusiasm, saying, "I have never been more excited about the future... I feel so, so good about our probability of success for achieving our mission."
Mira Murati as CTO and Greg Brockman as President
With Altman's return, Mira Murati has taken the role of CTO and Greg Brockman is back as President. Altman's memo also touched on his relationship with Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's co-founder and chief scientist, who was part of the board coup. He expressed "zero ill will" toward Sutskever and hopes to keep working together. Altman also thanked employees for their support, stating, "The fact that we did not lose a single customer will drive us to work even harder for you."
OpenAI's immediate priorities
In the memo, Altman laid out three immediate priorities for OpenAI. First, pushing forward their research plan and investing more in full-stack safety efforts. Second, continuing to improve and deploy products and serve customers. Finally, collaborating with new board members, Taylor, Summers and D'Angelo, to create a board of diverse perspectives, improve governance structure, and oversee an independent review of recent events.
Taylor's memo to employees
OpenAI board chair Taylor also sent a memo to employees, expressing gratitude for their efforts in finding a path forward for the company. He emphasized the board's focus on strengthening OpenAI's corporate governance by building a qualified, diverse board, stabilizing the organization, and enhancing its governance structure. Taylor stated, "We are pleased that this board will include a non-voting observer for Microsoft." He also acknowledged the critical role OpenAI plays in the development and safety of AI technologies.
Microsoft's involvement in OpenAI
Microsoft's non-voting observer seat on OpenAI's board will give the tech giant more insight into the company's inner workings without an official vote in major decisions. Until now, Microsoft had no visibility into the nonprofit board despite its 49% stake in the for-profit entity. The addition of Microsoft to the board is expected to strengthen one of the most important partnerships in the technology space.
