More than 500 OpenAI staff members have revolted against the company’s board after its botched coup against Sam Altman, signing a letter in which they threaten to quit if the former president and co-founder isn’t reinstated in his role.
Last Friday, the nonprofit board of OpenAI moved to oust Altman—one of the global leading figures in the development of artificial intelligence—in a move that shocked the tech world. Since then, the board has named Emmett Shear, former head and co-founder of Twitch, as his replacement. Altman has accepted a new job at Microsoft and seems content to stay there.
“We have more unity and commitment and focus than ever before,” Altman wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in response to a post confirming his new role. “We are all going to work together in some way or other, and I’m so excited. One team, one mission.”
But OpenAI employees—including senior members of staff—have been vocal about their opposition to Altman’s sudden dismissal, writing their demands down in a letter where they threatened to quit the company and go work for Microsoft if their requests aren’t satisfied.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Evan Morikawa, an engagement manager at OpenAI, wrote on X that more than 95 percent of the company’s staff members—743 employees out of a total of 770—had signed the letter. Morikawa noted that the support of some of his colleagues was “shocking” as many have “tenuous visa situations.”
In the letter, the OpenAI employees wrote that Microsoft, the biggest investor in OpenAI, said there would be jobs for them if they wanted to quit OpenAI and join Microsoft instead.
“Never got so many job offers so quickly in my life,” Jerry Tworek, a research lead at OpenAI, according to his LinkedIn profile, posted on X.
While OpenAI has not yet appeared to budge, many of the company’s employees have been taking to social media to express their unhappiness with the firm.
“I am on an H-1B, in the process of getting my green card and relocating my family to the U.S.,” wrote one OpenAI employee, Reiichiro Nakano, on X. “Me and many other colleagues in a similar situation have signed this letter. I do not know what will happen next, but I am confident we will be taken care of. The board should resign.”
“I think the OpenAI board should resign,” Jan Leike, Head of Alignment at OpenAI, said on X.
“Many of us have worked with Sam Altman and Greg Brockman [president and co-founder of OpenAI] for years. They are some of the kindest and highest integrity people there are. Of course we’ll join them,” Peter Welinder, VP Product at OpenAI, wrote. “3 board members, who never engage internally, have had 3 days to tell their story, and they’ve kept quiet. There’s nothing there.”
Most notably, Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s chief scientist and a member of the board who signed the letter with the over 500 workers threatening to quit OpenAI, wrote on X: “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.”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.