- Added statement from Sam Altman
Update from 27. September 2024:
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied rumors of a planned "giant equity stake" in the company during an employee meeting on Thursday.
He called reports about it "just not true" and said there were "no current plans" for such a move.
However, CFO Sarah Friar confirmed that investors had expressed concerns about Altman not owning shares in the highly valued AI company he co-founded almost nine years ago. OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor told CNBC that while the board had discussed whether Altman owning a stake would benefit the company and its mission, no specific numbers were discussed or decisions made.
The meeting followed the board's announcement that it was considering restructuring the company into a for-profit entity. The non-profit part would remain as a separate unit.
In an interview at Italian Tech Week, Altman dismissed reports linking recent executive departures to the potential restructuring. He called most media reports about it "just totally wrong" and said it was more about people being ready for new life stages and a new generation of leadership.
Original article from 26. September 2024:
OpenAI is undergoing significant changes, with several high-level executives leaving the company and a restructuring of its corporate structure in the works. CEO Sam Altman is set to receive shares for the first time.
On Wednesday, long-time CTO Mira Murati announced her departure from OpenAI. In a post on Platform X, she explained that she had made the difficult decision to leave after careful consideration.
Altman responded to Murati's announcement with his own post, emphasizing her importance to the company. "Mira has been instrumental in the progress and growth of OpenAI over the past 6.5 years," he wrote. "She has been a hugely important factor in our evolution from an unknown research lab to a major company."
While saddened by Murati's decision, Altman expressed his support for her choice. He noted that Murati had built a strong team of executives over the past year who would continue to drive the company's progress.
Other executives leave the team
In addition to Murati, Head of Research Bob McGrew and Vice President of Research Barret Zoph are also leaving OpenAI. Altman stressed that these decisions were made independently and by mutual agreement. However, the timing of Murati's decision made it logical to make these changes together to enable a smooth transition to the next generation of leadership.
Altman announced several promotions to replace the departing executives. Mark Chen has been appointed as the new Head of Research and will lead the research department alongside Jakub Pachocki as Chief Scientist. Matt Knight, previously Head of Security, will be promoted to Chief Information Security Officer. Kevin Weil and Srinivas Narayanan will continue to lead the Applied Team, which is responsible for translating the technology into products for businesses and consumers.
Altman also commented on the departures, noting that leadership changes are a natural part of companies, especially fast-growing and demanding ones like OpenAI. He acknowledged the unusual abruptness of the changes but pointed to the reasons Murati had given: There is never a good time, a less abrupt change would have led to rumors, and she wanted to make the move while OpenAI was on an upswing.
These departures follow a number of previous personnel changes which have seen the company lose several senior executives and former founders, including Ilya Sutskever, Andrey Karpathy, John Schulman and Jan Leike. Greg Brockman remains with the company but is currently on an extended sabbatical.
OpenAI becomes for-profit, Altman receives shares
Alongside these personnel changes, OpenAI is planning to fundamentally change its corporate structure. According to insiders, the company is working on transforming its core business into a for-profit benefit corporation that will no longer be controlled by a non-profit board. This restructuring aims to make the company more attractive to investors.
As part of these changes, CEO Sam Altman is set to receive shares in the for-profit company for the first time. OpenAI could be valued at $150 billion after the restructuring. The non-profit OpenAI organization will continue to exist and hold a minority stake in the for-profit company.
These developments mark a significant turning point for OpenAI, which was founded in 2015 as a non-profit AI research organization. The planned changes could have far-reaching implications for how the company is managed and how it deals with AI risks. At the same time, they are likely to make OpenAI much more attractive to investors.
