After a weekend of talks to bring back Sam Altman as OpenAI CEO, the nonprofit board decided to go in a different direction. They’ve chosen Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Twitch, as the temporary CEO.
Shear will take over from Mira Murati, who was publicly supporting Altman. This information was first reported by The Information. So, that’s three CEOs in three days, just to keep you updated.
Who is Emmett Shear?
Shear who is the co-founder of Twitch and Justin.tv, was the CEO of Twitch until March this year. He graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science in 2005.
In June 2011, Shear became a part-time partner at Y Combinator, where he offers advice to the new startups in each batch. In 2012, he was named in Forbes Magazine on their 30 Under 30 list.
Altman’s Departure and Shear’s Appointment
The hiring of Shear seems to signal that Altman won’t be returning after being fired on Friday. The board said Altman wasn’t consistently honest in his communications. As The Verge mentioned on Saturday, the board started discussing bringing Altman back due to pressure from investors and the possibility of a large number of employees quitting.
Late on Saturday night, insiders informed that the board members who were still there had not met the 5 PM Pacific Time deadline to step down and bring back Sam Altman and fellow co-founder Greg Brockman.
If they didn’t comply, there was a threat of many staff members resigning. Once the deadline passed, a large number of OpenAI employees began expressing their support for Altman on social media.
OpenAI Investors Pushing to Bring Altman Back
Altman came back to OpenAI’s office this morning, stating that it would be the “first and last time” he wore a guest badge. This implied that he would either come back as CEO or not come back at all. It seems that, after lengthy discussions, the latter has happened.
OpenAI has gained widespread attention since the introduction of ChatGPT. This service rapidly became one of the fastest-growing ever, sparking a rush in the tech industry for generative AI. In recent weeks, the company’s estimated value has surged to $80 to $90 billion. Just a few weeks ago, Altman shared that the service boasts over 100 million users each week.
Summary
Over the weekend, OpenAI chose Emmett Shear as the temporary CEO instead of bringing back Sam Altman. Altman faced dismissal due to communication issues, and despite talks of his return, the board missed a deadline. Altman seems to have left for good. OpenAI’s value is now $80-90 billion, and their service, ChatGPT, has over 100 million users weekly.
