Microsoft-OpenAI Saga’s Biggest Question: Will Sam Altman Stay or Go?

The letter comes in response to Altman’s unexpected ousting from OpenAI, which the company announced Friday; weekend talks regarding Altman’s reinstatement fell short. Then late Sunday,
Microsoft
CEO Satya Nadella said in a blog post that Altman would be joining the tech giant’s new in-house AI research team. Microsoft has a 49% stake in OpenAI.

Nadella has said he is open to Altman returning to OpenAI or joining Microsoft, in a series of broadcast interviews. OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

That raises the prospect of one potential resolution—Altman going back to OpenAI, the board resigning, and more than 700 employees ending their revolt. Even in that scenario, things would likely never be the same. Nadella said Monday that governance needed to change at the company, regardless of where Altman ends up.

Microsoft stock closed at a record high Monday, but fell 0.9% in early trading Tuesday as investors awaited the next major development.

At least one board member, Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, has expressed regret at the ouster of Altman.

“I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we’ve built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company,” he said in a post on X.

If the board doesn’t reinstate Altman, or he declines to come back as CEO, the drama could ramp up. 

The glut of so many AI-trained workers threatening to leave is already turning heads in the tech sector.
Salesforce
(CRM) CEO Marc Benioff is publicly courting OpenAI researchers who want to resign, offering to hire them immediately and match their compensation. He even wants them to email him their CVs directly.

But Microsoft would appear to be the more likely destination for the majority of those unhappy OpenAI employees. If that happens, it could leave the ChatGPT creator without 95% of its employees.

To make matters worse, some OpenAI investors are considering suing the company’s board following the removal of Altman as CEO, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Something has got to give and it looks like Tuesday will be a pivotal day.

Write to Callum Keown at [email protected]