What Satya Nadella, who hired Sam Altman, said on his return to OpenAI

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who had recently welcomed Sam Altman back to the company, announced minutes after Altman made his decision to return as OpenAI CEO that they had talked about it and decided that this is “a first essential step” to create “more stable, well-informed, and effective governance” in OpenAI.

Microsoft is the largest shareholder in OpenAI, having reportedly contributed $13 billion to the business. Nadella had declared he would join Microsoft alongside former OpenAI president Greg Brockman to head a new team for advanced artificial intelligence research shortly after Altman was let go from the company he co-founded, OpenAI.

“The modifications to the OpenAI board are encouraging. This, in our opinion, is a crucial first step toward better informed, stable, and efficient governance. After our conversation, Sam, Greg, and I decided that they, together with the OAI leadership team, have a crucial role to play in making sure OAI keeps growing and advancing its goals. Nadella shared Altman’s post on X announcing his decision to rejoin OpenAI. “We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners.”

In shocking moves last week, Brockman was removed from the board and Altman was dismissed. According to a post on X by Brockman, Altman—who is largely recognized as the face of OpenAI, the company that developed the ground-breaking ChatGPT—was dismissed on Friday during a Google Meet call. Over a different Google

Meet call the following day, Brockman was informed that, while being removed from the board, he would continue to serve in his capacity as a “vital member of the company.”

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Altman’s departure, according to an OpenAI statement at the time, is the result of 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”.