OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied at Thursday’s all-hands meeting that he had plans to take a “huge stake” in the company and said the information was “untrue,” according to an attendee.
Altman and Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said in a virtual meeting that investors had raised concerns about Altman not holding a stake in the high-priced artificial intelligence company he co-founded nearly nine years ago. Because the meeting was for employees only, no names were revealed.
“There are no current plans here,” Altman said of potentially acquiring a stake.
OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor told CNBC in a statement that the board had discussed the issue, but no specific numbers were available.
“The board discussed whether receiving equitable compensation for Sam would be beneficial to the company and our mission, but no specific numbers were discussed and no decisions were made,” Taylor said.
The meeting late Thursday followed the board’s decision to consider restructuring the company into a for-profit business, according to a separate person with knowledge of the matter. If any changes occur, the nonprofit division will remain a separate entity, said the person, who asked not to be named because no plans have been finalized.
While directors consider the future of OpenAI, key executives continue to exit.
On Wednesday, three executives announced their resignations. OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, who briefly served as interim CEO, said she would leave the company after six and a half years. Later that day, Bob McGrew, head of research, and Barret Zoph, vice president of research, said they were leaving the company.
“I think this will be a big transition for everyone involved, and I hope that OpenAI will emerge stronger for it, as we do for every transition,” Altman said in an Italian Tech Week interview Thursday.
Altman said that contrary to some media reports, his departure is not related to a potential restructuring of the company.
“Most of what I saw was completely wrong,” Altman said at an event in Turin, Italy. “But we’ve been thinking about it, and our board has been independently thinking about what it takes to take the next step for almost a year. But I think it’s about preparing people for a new chapter in their lives and building a new generation of Leadership.”
Murathi wrote “I am stepping down because I want to create time and space for my own exploration,” she wrote in a memo to the company. She said the focus would be on ensuring a “seamless transition.”
Prior to Thursday’s move, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever and former safety chief Jan Leike announced they would leave in May. Co-founder John Schulman said last month he was leaving to join rival Anthropic.
Powered by OpenAI microsoftis currently pursuing a funding round that would value the company at more than $150 billion, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC. Thrive Capital is leading the round and plans to invest $1 billion, with Tiger Global also planning to join.
OpenAI has been in hypergrowth mode since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, but it has also been fraught with controversy and executive departures, with some current and former employees concerned that the company is growing too quickly to operate safely.
Altman was ousted last November but quickly reinstated. Almost all of OpenAI’s employees signed an open letter announcing their intention to leave the company in response to the board’s actions. A few days later, Altman returned to the company and Murati moved back from interim CEO to the CTO role.
see: Research on Altman
