Media: Chief executive carousel at ChatGPT developer OpenAI
According to media reports, the ChatGPT developer OpenAI will not see the return of ousted co-founder and CEO Sam Altman after all. After hours of negotiations over the weekend, employees were instead presented with another interim CEO, as reported by the industry service "The Information" and the news agency Bloomberg, among others. It is therefore the co-founder and long-time head of the gaming-focused streaming service Twitch, Emmett Shear.
According to media reports, OpenAI's financial backers, including Microsoft, had previously insisted that Altman, who was kicked out on Friday, be reinstated as CEO. However, the Board of Directors, which had made this decision, remained firm. It even removed the interim CEO Mira Murati, who had only been appointed on Friday and is said to have sided with Altman in the meantime.
According to media reports, a dispute over the direction of OpenAI led to Altman's departure. Some leading figures, such as Chief Technology Officer Ilya Sutskever, were of the opinion that Altman wanted to bring artificial intelligence software to the market too quickly and with too commercial an approach. They had won over the majority of the Board of Directors.
Microsoft as a major investor
OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a non-profit organization with the mission of developing artificial intelligence in the interests of all. However, when it became clear that donations would not be enough to raise the necessary billions in investment, a for-profit company was also formed with Altman at the helm. He brought Microsoft on board as a major investor and secured OpenAI access to the necessary computing power. However, the conflict between the two approaches grew ever deeper.
The chatbot ChatGPT can formulate sentences at the linguistic level of a human. Its release around a year ago triggered AI hype. OpenAI thus became a pioneer in the technology. Microsoft entered into a multi-billion euro pact with the company to incorporate its technology into its products. Other tech heavyweights such as Google, Amazon and the Facebook group Meta introduced competing software.
- Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Twitch, has taken on the role of interim CEO at OpenAI, replacing Sam Altman, following the heated discussions over the weekend about the direction of the company and its approach to artificial intelligence commercialization.
- Despite pressure from OpenAI's financial backers, including Microsoft, to reinstate Altman as CEO, the Board of Directors remained resolute in their decision and even terminated Mira Murati, the interim CEO appointed on Friday, who reportedly supported Altman's views during the dispute.
- Emmett Shear's appointment as interim CEO by OpenAI comes at a crucial time, with the company's chatbot ChatGPT, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence, having garnered significant attention and competitions from tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Meta, all seeking to incorporate similar technology into their products.
Source: www.dpa.com
