https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/20/23969586/sam-altman-plotting-return-open-ai-microsoft Skip to main content The Verge logo.The Verge homepage * The Verge homepageThe Verge logo./ * Tech/ * Reviews/ * Science/ * Entertainment/ * MoreMenu The Verge logo. Menu * Artificial Intelligence/ * Tech/ * Microsoft Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO / Altman's move to Microsoft isn't a done deal, and Ilya Sutskever's flip to supporting Altman means two board members need to change their minds. By Alex Heath and Nilay Patel Nov 20, 2023, 6:59 PM UTC| Share this story * * * Business And World Leaders Attend The APEC CEO Summit 2023 In San Francisco Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Sam Altman's surprise move to Microsoft after his shock firing at OpenAI isn't a done deal. He and co-founder Greg Brockman are still willing to return to OpenAI if the remaining board members who fired him step aside, multiple sources tell The Verge. The promised mass exodus of virtually every OpenAI employee -- including board member and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who led the initial move to depose Altman! -- means that there is more pressure on the board than ever, with only two of the three remaining members needing to flip. Altman posted on X that "we are all going to work together some way or other," which we are told is meant to indicate that the fight continues. Altman, former president Brockman, and the company's investors are still trying to find a graceful exit for the board, say multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation. The sources characterized the hiring announcement by Microsoft, which needed to have a resolution to the crisis before the stock market opened on Monday, as a "holding pattern." A spokesperson for Microsoft declined to comment. After Altman was suddenly fired on Friday, negotiations with the board to potentially bring him back reached a stalemate. While OpenAI's management team and investors were vetting candidates to replace the board for Altman's potential return, the board was quietly conducting its own CEO search in parallel. Late Sunday, the board announced that Emmett Shear, the co-founder of Twitch, would be CEO, seemingly putting an end to the possibility of Altman coming back. Employees responded to the news of a new CEO in OpenAI's Slack with a 'fuck you' emoji There has been a nonstop power struggle inside OpenAI since Friday, with nearly all employees against the now three-person board that opposes Altman. Employees at the company's San Francisco headquarters refused to attend an emergency all-hands scheduled on Sunday with new CEO Emmett Shear, according to a person familiar with the matter, who added that they responded to the announcement in OpenAI's Slack with a "fuck you" emoji. Later that evening, Sutskever flipped on the board, even though he had played a key role in the ousting of Altman just days earlier. His name was on an open letter to the board on Monday calling for them to resign and reinstate Altman, which nearly the whole company has now signed. On Monday, employees started posting on social media that they are continuing to keep the lights on and maintain service stability for OpenAI's developers, which we're told is being done to ensure the company doesn't fully implode while the board is pressured to resign. New CEO Emmett Shear has so far been unable to get written documentation of the board's detailed reasoning for firing Altman, which also hasn't been shared with the company's investors, according to people familiar with the situation. He said in a note to employees Sunday night that his first order of business would be to "hire an independent investigator to dig into the entire process leading up to this point and generate a full report." Do you know more about what's going on inside OpenAI? I'd love to chat. You can reach me by email at alex.heath@theverge.com or through the contact form on my Linktree. Then we can set up a secure channel. Moments after this story was first published, Altman said in another X post that his "top priority remains to ensure openai continues to thrive," and that he and Microsoft "are committed to fully providing continuity of operations to our partners and customers." It's not clear how going to Microsoft with over 700 former OpenAI employees is compatible with ensuring OpenAI continues to thrive, or how that can be reasonably set as a priority for those former employees once they are working at Microsoft. Also: Altman is not in Microsoft's internal corporate directory yet. The remaining board holdouts who oppose Altman are Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, former GeoSim Systems CEO Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner, the director of strategy at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology. They have so far not responded to The Verge's requests for comment. Command Line / A newsletter from Alex Heath about the tech industry's inside conversation. Email (required)[ ]Sign up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Most Popular 1. Microsoft hires former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Sam Altman isn't coming back to OpenAI ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Hundreds of OpenAI employees threaten to resign and join Microsoft ----------------------------------------------------------------- Verge Deals / Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we've tested sent to your inbox daily. Email (required)[ ]Sign up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. From our sponsor Advertiser Content FromSponsor logo Sponsor thumbnail More from this stream Turmoil at OpenAI: after firing Sam Altman, what's next for the creators of ChatGPT? * Of course there's a rationalist Harry Potter fanfic angle to the OpenAI drama. Nov 20, 2023, 6:37 PM UTC * Sam Altman isn't showing up in Microsoft's corporate directory yet. Nov 20, 2023, 4:11 PM UTC * Hundreds of OpenAI employees threaten to resign and join Microsoft Nov 20, 2023, 2:09 PM UTC * We're all trying to find the guy who did this. Nov 20, 2023, 1:28 PM UTC See all 30 stories The Verge logo. * Terms of Use * Privacy Notice * Cookie Policy * Do Not Sell Or Share My Personal Info * Licensing FAQ * Accessibility * Platform Status * How We Rate and Review Products * Contact * Tip Us * Community Guidelines * About * Ethics Statement The Verge is a vox media network * Advertise with us * Jobs @ Vox Media (c) 2023 Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved