SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: OpenAI has hired former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear as its CEO amid reports of the return of Sam Altman to the position. According to the latest reports, the artificial intelligence company has defied investors' calls to reinstate Altman.
Open AI's board abruptly announced the sacking of the co-founder on November 17, shocking Silicon Valley.
Who is Emmett Shear?
The board named Shear as the interim CEO on November 19. He was born in Seattle and has a bachelor's degree in computer science from Yale University.
He founded Justin.tv, a 24/7 live video feed, along with Justin Kan in 2006. Until March 2023, he served as the CEO of Twitch's video live-streaming service. Shear announced on X that he has decided to join Open AI.
Why was Sam Altman sacked?
Altman's abrupt exit from Open AI was a surprise to many. He was one of the initial board members and co-founders of the company that brought an artificial intelligence revolution through ChatGPT. According to CNN, the board decided to remove Altman from the company because "he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities."
Acknowledging the end of his career in OpenAI, he wrote on X, "I loved my time at openai. it was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. most of all i loved working with such talented people. will have more to say about what's next later."
However, a day after his exit, reports suggested that the board reconsidered its decision and planned to rehire Altman. Contradicting all statements, OpenAI announced its new CEO on November 20.
Sam Altman joins Microsoft
As Silicon Valley was stunned by the drama unfolding, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced Altman was joining Microsoft.
He wrote on X, "We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners."
"We look forward to getting to know Emmett Shear and OAI's new leadership team and working with them. And we're extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success," Nadella added.
