OpenAI CEO Sam Altman looks back on why he was fired three times, including from OpenAI
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OpenAI's Sam Altman was suddenly urged to step down by the company's board of directors in November 2023, and announced his resignation from his position as CEO and his retirement from OpenAI. After a brief stint at Microsoft, Altman returned to his position as CEO of OpenAI, generating significant buzz. The Wall Street Journal, an American business newspaper, explained the circumstances surrounding Altman's resignation, noting that he had been pressured to resign three times before, including from OpenAI.
Sam Altman's Knack for Dodging Bullets—With a Little Help From Bigshot Friends - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/sam-altman-openai-protected-by-silicon-valley-friends-f3efcf68
This is not the first time Altman has been fired from OpenAI, as he has been forced to step down from top leadership roles at three other organizations, including OpenAI.
Prior to his involvement in the founding of OpenAI, Altman was a co-founder and CEO of Loopt, a company that developed location-based services for smartphones, in 2005. At the time, Altman was a sophomore at Stanford University, majoring in computer science.
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'Every phone is going to have a GPS. I want anyone interested to join me in figuring out how to best combine these technologies,' Altman said. He dropped out of Stanford to develop an app that would let users find their friends' locations on a map. Y Combinator, a seed accelerator for Silicon Valley startups, funded Loopt's launch.
However, senior employees at Loopt twice proposed Altman's removal from his position as CEO to the board of directors for 'deceptive and disorderly conduct.' According to The Wall Street Journal, complaints were raised about Altman's involvement in side projects separate from Loopt's core business, including the use of Loopt's technology to develop a gay dating app. However, the board retained Altman until Loopt's sale to a bank in 2012.
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'When Altman believes something is true, it becomes reality in his mind,' said Mark Jacobstein, Loopt's former chief operating officer. 'This is an extraordinary talent for an ambitious entrepreneur. It may lead to business growth, it may not, and it may make people uncomfortable.' According to sources familiar with The Wall Street Journal, Altman has no recollection of any complaints he received from employees at Loopt.
Altman then became CEO of Y Combinator, a seed funding company founded by founder Paul Graham and a few friends. Altman successfully expanded Y Combinator's investment portfolio, backing companies like Dropbox, Airbnb, Reddit, and Docker. As a result, Y Combinator grew into a major, established investment company.
However, Altman also founded a nonprofit called YC Research, a semi-independent research venture, which raised suspicions that he was straying too far from the core business of Y Combinator.
by TechCrunch
In 2015, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Larry Page, co-founder of Google, had a falling out over AI, which led Google to focus on investing in DeepMind, an AI company. In response, Musk teamed up with Sam Altman and others to found OpenAI in December 2015. Details of how OpenAI was founded are summarized in the following article:
The history of the founding of DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic: The people who feared the risks of AI the most decided that they should be at the top and built it themselves - GIGAZINE
Then in 2019, Y Combinator announced the resignation of its CEO, citing his decision to 'prioritize personal projects, including OpenAI, over his work at Y Combinator.'
Sam Altman has been fired before OpenAI - GIGAZINE
At the time, Altman proposed to move from CEO to chairman to ensure a smooth transition, and announced his transition to the chairman role on Y Combinator's official blog. However, his relationship with Y Combinator's management team could not be repaired, and the blog post was subsequently deleted.
On November 17, 2023, OpenAI announced that Sam Altman would be stepping down from his position and leaving the company. It was reported that Altman's dismissal was decided by a resolution of OpenAI's board of directors at the time.
OpenAI's Sam Altman steps down, CTO Mira Murati becomes interim CEO - GIGAZINE
After Altman was fired, he reportedly emailed Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, saying that he felt 'very sad' about his dismissal and his decision to leave OpenAI. Shortly after, Chesky received an email from Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, OpenAI's largest business partner, saying, 'Altman has the support of Silicon Valley.'
Chesky held a video call with Altman and Greg Brockman, who also resigned as president and left OpenAI, asking Altman why this had happened. Altman responded, 'It may have been the result of an argument with board members Helen Toner and Ilya Satskever.' Chesky then discussed Altman's future with Silicon Valley figures, including angel investor Ron Conway, and negotiated with OpenAI's board of directors. The Wall Street Journal explains that Chesky's active support stems from Altman's support and advice in getting Airbnb off the ground when he was CEO of Y Combinator.
According to The Wall Street Journal, after Altman was fired from OpenAI, he was supported by Sun Microsystems co-founder and OpenAI investor Vinod Khosla, Conway, and Satya Nadella. Two days after his firing, Microsoft announced that Sam Altman would be hired as a temporary employee until he could return to OpenAI.
Microsoft announces the hiring of former OpenAI members, including Sam Altman - GIGAZINE
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