OpenAI’s board removed Sam Altman as CEO and said it had lost confidence in his ability to lead the company. The announcement also reshaped the company’s leadership and brought renewed attention to the governance structure behind its commercial AI business.
The board’s decision and the leadership transition
OpenAI said the decision followed a “deliberative review process by the board.” The review concluded that Altman “wasn’t consistently candid in his communications” with board members, which the board said hindered its ability to carry out its responsibilities.
Altman left the board as well as the CEO role. In a post on X, he said he had loved his time at OpenAI and that he would share more about what came next later. The company did not publicly detail the specific communications behind the board’s conclusion.
Mira Murati, previously OpenAI’s CTO, was named interim CEO. Greg Brockman stepped down as board chairman but remained company president, reporting to Murati. OpenAI said it would begin a formal search for a permanent CEO immediately.
A nonprofit at the center of a commercial AI company
The leadership change placed OpenAI’s unusual corporate structure in sharper view. OpenAI began as a nonprofit in 2015 and restructured in 2019 as a “capped-profit” company to raise money for the substantial costs of training advanced AI systems.
Its for-profit subsidiary, OpenAI Global, LLC, is controlled by the nonprofit. The commercial arm can sell and license technology, but it remains subject to the nonprofit’s mission: ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits humanity. OpenAI defines AGI as technology that can “outperform humans at most economically valuable work.”
The nonprofit board has authority to decide when the company has achieved AGI. It can also exclude such technology from intellectual property licenses and other commercial terms, including arrangements with Microsoft, a major investor and technology partner.
Investors and partners respond
The board described the transition as a step toward new leadership while reaffirming its commitment to OpenAI’s mission. It said Murati was qualified to lead the company’s research, product and safety functions during the transition.
Microsoft said it remained committed to its partnership with OpenAI and to Murati and her team. The article reported that Microsoft had invested $13 billion and held what amounted to a 49% stake. It also said Microsoft was notified of Altman’s departure shortly before the public announcement.
The change came after OpenAI’s first developer conference, OpenAI DevDay, which Altman hosted. He had also spoken at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference and an Oakland, California event on Thursday. According to The Verge and The New York Times, citing internal sources, employees learned of his firing when it was announced publicly.
What the change leaves unresolved
OpenAI did not explain in public what specific missteps led to the board’s conclusion. The source article noted that the issue appeared connected to Altman’s relationship with the board and the company’s governance structure, while also pointing to ongoing discussions about raising capital.
That leaves a consequential transition underway: Murati is leading the company in the interim, the board is searching for a permanent CEO, and OpenAI’s nonprofit remains in control of the business pursuing commercial growth. The company’s stated mission and its need to fund costly AI development sit side by side in the structure now under scrutiny.