A group of OpenAI executives and investors attempted to restore Sam Altman to his position as CEO but were unable to agree on the composition and function of the board.
Though negotiations are flexible and continuing, a resolution could occur soon. People with knowledge of the negotiations told Bloomberg.
The sources, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that Altman, who was fired on Friday, 17 November, is willing to come back but would prefer to see changes to the board's composition, including the expulsion of current members. According to them, he is also asking for a statement clearing him of any misconduct.
The board originally agreed to stand down in principle following the significant outcry over the dismissal, but they have yet to formally resign.
Candidates for new directors have been screened by the directors.
According to one of the sources, important OpenAI leaders are also pressuring the board to step down and reinstate Altman. According to the source, Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap, Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon, and Interim CEO Mira Murati are on the list.
Following Altman's dismissal, the board chaired by OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever removed him from his director position and declared that "he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board." This sparked a push to have Altman reinstated. A few hours later, in protest at the events of the day, President Greg Brockman—who had also been expelled from the board—resigned.
Altman's desire to transform OpenAI, which started as a charity organisation, into a profitable enterprise and his insistence on seeing the company produce goods and attract clients quickly have long caused division inside the company. This directly clashed with board members' worries about the security of AI systems that can produce text, graphics, and even computer code without much instruction.
The company's board of directors included internet entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, Quora Inc. CEO Adam D'Angelo, and Helen Toner, head of strategy at Georgetown's Centre for Security and Emerging Technology, up until Friday.
