The staff of leading artificial intelligence company OpenAI threatened Monday to resign en masse unless its board resigns and it reinstates former CEO Sam Altman, who was ousted Friday in a shocking, unexplained move that roiled the tech world over the weekend.
Over 500 employees said they would leave the company and move over to a new AI research laboratory created by Microsoft that Altman would lead if the board members did not reinstate Altman and resign of their own accord.
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The employees argued the board's ousting of Altman "undermined our mission and company."
Breaking: 505 of 700 employees @OpenAI tell the board to resign. pic.twitter.com/M4D0RX3Q7a
— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) November 20, 2023
If all 505 employees resign, it will leave OpenAI with less than 30% of its workforce.
One of the notable signatories of the letter is Ilya Sutskever, the AI company's chief scientist and board member. Sutskever tweeted on Monday that he had regrets about participating in the effort to remove Altman: "I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together, and I will do everything I can to reunite the company."
I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.
— Ilya Sutskever (@ilyasut) November 20, 2023
In announcing Altman's firing on Friday, the board said it had undergone a "deliberative review process" and found that Altman was "not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities."
The decision took everyone by surprise, including OpenAI major investors Microsoft, Sequoia Capital, and Thrive Capital. The three investors were informed of the decision one minute before the decision was announced, according to the New York Times. Other investors learned of the decision through social media.
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The company released a late-night memo to staff on Sunday affirming that Altman would not return to the company after he attempted negotiations to be reinstated to his former role. Microsoft announced hours later that it was hiring Altman and Brockman to lead an advanced AI research laboratory at the company but that it would continue to invest in OpenAI.
The board also said that former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear would replace Chief Technological Officer Mira Murati as interim CEO. Murati was appointed as interim CEO on Friday, but she is now threatening to leave OpenAI for Microsoft.