Profit vs non-profit tensions or coup by chief scientist: Theories abound over Sam Altman's ouster

The shock sacking of OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, who emerged as the face of generative AI, has sent ripples through the tech industry and triggered intense speculation around the reason for the 38-year-old’s unceremonious exit.

Altman was fired from the company responsible for the immensely popular chatbot ChatGPT after the board said it lost confidence in his ability to lead the firm effectively.

A review found he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, OpenAI, a company at the forefront of AI, said. Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, will serve as interim CEO, effective immediately.

Also read: Who is Mira Murati, the 34-year-old appointed interim CEO of OpenAI?

Altman’s exit has sparked intense discussion online. Here are some theories on what went down at OpenAI:

Power struggle 

According to the Wall Street Journal, Altman said he was shocked and angered by the board's decision. He also said his ouster was the result of a power struggle between him and board members, WSJ reported, citing sources.

Internal reports indicate that employees had been engaged in heated debates regarding the company's approach to artificial intelligence development and safety measures.

According to The Information, Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder and board member at OpenAI, faced questions from employees following Altman's ouster, with some expressing concerns about a potential "coup" or "hostile takeover."

Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today.

Let us first say thank you to all the incredible people who we have worked with at OpenAI, our customers, our investors, and all of those who have been reaching out.

We too are still trying to figure out exactly…

— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023

Sutskever responded to these allegations by emphasising the board's commitment to OpenAI's mission of developing beneficial artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the betterment of humanity.

"I can understand why you chose this word, but I disagree with this. This was the board doing its duty to the mission of the non-profit, which is to make sure that OpenAI builds AGI that benefits all of humanity," Sutskever was quoted as saying.

American journalist Kara Swisher in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said that Sutskever was the driving force behind the leadership shakeup at OpenAI.

Sutskever had grown increasingly frustrated with the influence of co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, and he ultimately rallied the board to his side, Swisher, citing sources, said.

"The board members who voted against Altman felt he was manipulative and headstrong and wanted to do what he wanted to do," Swisher said.

if i start going off, the openai board should go after me for the full value of my shares

— Sam Altman (@sama) November 18, 2023

Too fast, too furious

Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a non-profit with Sutskever, Elon Musk, and others, with the goal of setting up a counterbalance to for-profit AI companies like Google and ensuring that AI development is conducted in a safe and responsible manner.

In 2019, when Altman became CEO, he helped set up a for-profit entity governed by the OpenAI non-profit so that it could raise funds from outside investors like Microsoft.

However, concerns about AI safety began to divide the company's leadership. In late 2020, a group of employees split from OpenAI to launch their own startup, Anthropic.

The Anthropic founders were concerned that OpenAI was not moving quickly enough to release its technology, and they also had different views on how to ensure the safety of AI.

"The developer day and how the store was introduced was in inflection moment of Altman pushing too far, too fast," Swisher said in a post.

OpenAI has set ambitious targets, expecting $1 billion in revenue in 2023 and higher figures in 2024, WSJ said. This growth trajectory prompted discussions with investors about a share sale that could value the company at $80 billion to $90 billion, a threefold increase from its valuation earlier this year.