Microsoft’s Offer and Insights
Scott’s comment sheds some light on Microsoft’s intention to pay employees at OpenAI and its hiring plans.
Early Monday morning, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Altman, along with Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s former president, and their colleagues, would join Microsoft as part of a new AI research group. In response, over 600 OpenAI employees signed a letter to the company’s board, threatening to join their former boss at Microsoft unless the current board members resigned.
Mixed Signals and Changing Situation
During his first press interview after Altman’s departure, Nadella spoke to CNBC on Monday and stated that “something has to change around the governance” at OpenAI. While not explicitly confirming Altman and Brockman’s move to Microsoft during the interview, it indicated a change from earlier statements.
Nadella emphasized Microsoft’s desire to continue partnering with OpenAI, stating, “We chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI, and we want to continue to do so. So I’m open to both options, but one thing I will not do is stop innovating.”
Leadership Changes and Board Composition
Altman was fired from OpenAI’s board on Friday due to a lack of consistent communication with the board members, according to a statement. Following a weekend of negotiations to possibly reinstate Altman, Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Twitch, was appointed interim head.
Currently, OpenAI’s board consists of four members: Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s chief scientist (one of the employees who signed the resignation letter), Adam D’Angelo, Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner. Sutskever expressed deep regret for his involvement in the board’s decision in a post on X on Monday.