The board of OpenAI's nonprofit abruptly announced that Sam Altman would depart as CEO and leave the board, stating he "was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities" while offering no specifics, fueling rampant speculation. CTO Mira Murati became interim CEO, and chairman Greg Brockman, removed as board chair, announced he was quitting the same day. It was the start of a crisis that shook the company at the center of the generative AI boom.
17November 2023
OpenAI board fires CEO Sam Altman
The firing itself and the board's "not consistently candid" statement are confirmed by the official announcement, but no specific reasons were given at the time. Competing theories - from a safety dispute to a power struggle - circulated, the parties' own accounts remained vague, and the true cause was disputed.