During Thursday’s all-hands meeting, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied there were plans for him to take a “significant stake” in the company, calling the information “untrue,” according to an attendee. true”.
Both Altman and Finance Chief Sarah Friar told the meeting via video call that investors were not convinced Altman held a stake in the company he co-founded nearly nine years ago, the person said. Equity stakes in high-value artificial intelligence companies expressed concern.
Regarding the possibility that he might acquire an equity stake, Altman said, “There are no plans at this time,” the person said.
OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor told CNBC in a statement that while the board has discussed the matter, there is no specific number.
“The board has discussed whether having Sam receive equity compensation would be beneficial to the company and our mission, but no specific numbers have been discussed and no decision has been made,” Taylor said.
Thursday night’s meeting came after the board decided to consider restructuring the company into a for-profit business, according to another person familiar with the matter. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans have not yet been finalized, said the nonprofit arm would continue as a separate entity if changes were made.
While directors consider OpenAI’s future, key executives continue to leave.
On Wednesday, three senior executives announced their departures. OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati, who briefly served as interim CEO, said she will leave after six and a half years. Later in the day, head of research Bob McGrew and vice president of research Barret Zoph said they were leaving the company.
“I think this is a great transition for everyone involved, and I hope OpenAI will be stronger because of it, just like we are for all transitions,” Altman said in an interview during Thursday’s Italian Tech Week. Do that.
Altman said that contrary to some media reports, the departures are not related to a potential restructuring of the company.
“Most of the stuff I see is also completely wrong,” Ultraman said at the event in Turin, Italy. “But we’ve been thinking about it, our board has been thinking independently for almost a year about how to move into the next phase. But I think it’s just people getting ready for a new chapter in their lives, a new generation of leadership.”
Murad Wrote In a memo to the company, she “left because I wanted to create time and space for my own exploration.” She said her focus will be on ensuring a “smooth transition.”
Thursday’s move follows the departures announced in May of OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever and former security chief Jan Leike. Co-founder John Schulman said last month he was leaving to join rival Anthropic.
OpenAI, supported by MicrosoftPeople familiar with the matter told CNBC that it is currently seeking a round of financing that would value the company at more than $150 billion. Thrive Capital is leading the round and plans to invest $1 billion, with Tiger Global also planning to invest.
Although OpenAI has been in rapid growth mode since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, it has also been riddled with controversy and high-level executive departures, with some current and former employees worried that the company is growing too fast and cannot operate safely.
Altman was ousted in November but was quickly reinstated. Nearly all OpenAI employees signed an open letter saying they were leaving in response to the board’s action. A few days later, Altman returned to the company, and Mulati returned from interim CEO to chief technology officer.
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