Turmoil at OpenAI: after firing Sam Altman, what’s next for the creator of ChatGPT?

Where we are with the Sam Altman saga.

It has been a whirlwind couple of days. If you’re catching up, here’s a summary of the ongoing crisis at OpenAI:

• The company published a blog post Friday afternoon announcing that it had fired Altman as CEO and that board chair Greg Brockman was stepping down. The board said Altman hadn’t been candidly communicating with them.

• CTO Mira Murati was named interim CEO.

• Brockman later said “I quit.”

• Altman and Brockman posted a joint statement saying they were “shocked and saddened” by the board’s actions.

• Three high-level researchers reportedly quit in protest: Jakob Pachocki, Aleksander Madry, and Szymon Sidor.

• Sources said that Ilya Sutskever, Open AI’s chief scientist, was instrumental in Altman’s firing.

• Yesterday, sources told The Verge that OpenAI was trying to get Altman back as CEO. 

• Altman has conditions, including that the board members who fired him quit. The board has been waffling and negotiations pushed past a key 5PM PT deadline on Saturday.

• The Verge heard there would be mass resignations if no deal was reached by 5PM PT. A deal didn’t happen, and the talks are continuing today.

• OpenAI is “optimistic” it can get Altman back. A memo to staff last night said an update is expected this morning.