OpenAI names new CEO after Altman fate is sealed

THE dramatic boardroom saga at OpenAI took another turn this morning as the company behind ChatGPT said it would hire the former boss of streaming service Twitch, Emmett Shear, as its new CEO to replace Sam Altman who was ousted on Friday.

- Simon Hunt

Altman was abruptly sacked as boss of the world’s best known AI company after a statement by the board that it “no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” in a moved that sent shockwaves through the tech world and sparked a string of resignations from the business.

Altman arrived at OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters yesterday for crunch talks with senior company execs in a bid to be reinstated as chief executive.

The meeting is reported to have been mediated by Satya Nadella, CEO of 49% shareholder Microsoft, with Altman’s proposed reinstatement said to have been conditional on the removal of board members who voted to fire him.

But those talks appear to have failed as Nadella said this morning that Altman would instead be hired at Microsoft with Shear taking his place at OpenAI. In another twist it was announced that Altman will head an AI research team at Microsoft.