As per information reported on Saturday, a planned share sale from OpenAI employee quota that would have valued the tech firm at $86 billion has been jeopardized as CEO Sam Altman was fired from his position.
Thrive Capital, A US based venture capital firm focusing on the startup and tech industry is leading the current offer. The offer is under discussion and has not yet closed; however, it is in the last stages and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Media agencies and press started requesting comments from OpenAI and Thrive capital over the jeopardized status of the share sale, as soon as the news started floating that the board has fired Altman.
However, this isn’t the only high-key departure from the tech firm, the president and co-founder of OpenAI, Greg Brockman also stepped down from the position of chairman of the board and exited the company, as a result of a management shuffle.
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Loss of the Best Fundraiser
Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be well-known for mimicking the voice of humans and look like them, but if that AI software had a face and a voice that was Sam Altman.
OpenAI’s co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, caused a sensation in the AI industry just a year ago with the birth of ChatGPT, was the main wizard behind the success of the firm, has been fired further jeopardizing the $86 billion share sale.
The impact is so huge for the company because Altman is credited to single-handedly convince Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella to invest $10 billion in the startup leading to a three-fold increase in the valuation to $80 billion.
Moreover, his aura in the tech industry was such that it helped attract AI engineering talent from some giants of the industry like, Google, and Microsoft, promising them a recognition for their efforts in building a revolutionary technology.
Although the company is reassuring the employees that they won’t feel his need, but it’s seen that once a silicon valley star leaves a company with such a significant impact in the talent and fundraising activities, it usually results in the departure of both.
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Return As the CEO
According to the reports from Verge, OpenAI’s board is currently discussing the return of Sam Altman as CEO of the company. However, people are also reporting that he is considering launching a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) venture.
The possibility of Altman’s return as the CEO of OpenAI is uncertain, but we might see him coming back as investors, especially Microsoft, have entered into the scene to control the damage.
Kholsa Ventures, an early investor in Open AI wants Altman back in the leading position and will back him in whatever he does in the future. Although Microsoft declined to comment on the matter, the owner of 49% stake in the company, will try to bring him back fearing a mass exodus of talent.
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The Reason Behind Ouster
The board of OpenAI decided to fire its CEO Sam Altman, sending shockwaves in the AI and tech industry who see him as the brain behind ChatGPT. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati will assume additional responsibilities as an interim CEO.
OpenAI said in one of the blogs that, ”Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.”
The departures of CEO and President took the employees with a storm who discovered this abrupt management change through an internal memo and company’s blog page. Similarly, it came as a surprise for both Altman and Brockman as well who came to know of the decision a few minutes before the announcement.
Retorting to the microblogging site X, formerly Twitter, he said that “We too are still trying to figure out exactly what happened,” adding that, “We will be fine. Greater things are coming soon.”
