Microsoft has hired former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to lead an “advanced AI research group” following his departure from the AI firm.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the news on Twitter, announcing that Altman will join the in-house team, along with OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and “colleagues.”
“The mission continues,” Altman tweeted following the announcement. “I am delighted to have you join us as CEO of this new team,” Nadella replied.
“We're going to build something new and it's going to be amazing,” Brockman tweeted, adding that the team's initial leadership team will include Altman, along with Jakub Pachocki, Sazimon Sidor and Alexander Madry.
Microsoft's hiring of Altman and Brockman capped a busy weekend for OpenAI, with Brockman stepping down Saturday as the company was rocked by news that its board had fired Altman. The board said Altman “has not been consistently dishonest in his dealings with the board, which has hindered his ability to fulfill his responsibilities.”
Following his resignation, the company on Friday afternoon named its chief technology officer Mira Murthy as interim CEO, according to reports that Microsoft is pushing for Altman to return as CEO. As several OpenAI employees tweeted heart emojis to show their support for the co-founder, Murthy reportedly planned to hire Altman and Brockman in an undisclosed role—but as those plans appeared to have fallen through, former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear announced Monday morning that he'd be the company's new interim CEO. They were appointed executors.
Microsoft CEO Nadella tweeted that he would “continue our partnership with OpenAI” and continue to move forward with the product roadmap, including announcements at the recent Microsoft Ignite conference.
“Our partnership with Microsoft is strong,” Scheer said, detailing a three-pronged plan for the next 30 days; Among them, hiring an independent investigator and improving the management of the company and the management team.
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