one year on
OpenAI board fires CEO Sam Altman, citing lack of candor
The nonprofit board ousts Sam Altman over communication failures and installs CTO Mira Murati as interim CEO.
OpenAI’s nonprofit board fired CEO Sam Altman on Friday, citing a lack of candor in his communications. The board’s statement said Altman was “not consistently candid” and that his departure follows a deliberative review process. He steps down from both the CEO role and the board.
Mira Murati, previously OpenAI’s CTO, has been appointed interim CEO. Co-founder Greg Brockman steps down as board chairman but remains OpenAI’s president, reporting to Murati. The four-person board now consists of chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner. The decision blindsided employees, who learned of it from the public announcement. Microsoft, which has poured $13 billion into OpenAI, was notified minutes before the public announcement. Its stock price fell more than 1% in the last 30 minutes of trading.
It is unclear what missteps Altman may have made. OpenAI has an unusual board makeup and corporate governance structure, and the company has been in talks to raise substantial new capital. The firing comes days after Altman hosted OpenAI’s first developer conference, OpenAI DevDay, and spoke at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference and an Oakland event on Thursday.
Posted on X that he loved his time at OpenAI and will have more to say about what's next later.
Called Altman a hero who built a company from nothing to $90 billion, said he can't wait to see what he does next.
Described his brother as one of the most brilliant, impactful, generous and caring people in the industry.
Stated Microsoft remains committed to Mira and the OpenAI team, and to their long-term partnership.
One year later — open only if you can handle spoilers
This firing set off a five-day crisis that nearly collapsed OpenAI. Altman was reinstated days later after nearly all employees threatened to follow him to Microsoft. The board was restructured, with Sutskever later resigning. The episode exposed the fragility of OpenAI's governance model and became a defining moment in AI company accountability debates.