Breaking: OpenAI's ex-CEO Sam Altman joins Microsoft

The drama around OpenAI is coming to a close, hopefully. OpenAI has a new CEO in Emmett Shear, while its ex-CEO Sam Altman and ex-President Greg Brockman have now joined Microsoft.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made the announcement that Sam Altman, the ousted CEO of OpenAI and largely credited for its success, has now joined Microsoft.

Greg Brockman and other colleagues have also joined Sam Altman at Microsoft. Altman and Brockman will lead a new advanced AI research team at the company. Other prominent employees joining them would be senior researchers Jakub Pachocki, Aleksander Madry, and Szymon Sidor, all of whom had also resigned after Altman’s exit.

Microsoft is also continuing forward with its OpenAI investments, displaying confidence in its product roadmap under the guidance of OpenAI’s new leadership team, which will comprise of Emmett Shear as the new CEO.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has been at the center of a lot of drama. On Friday, its Board of Directors fired the then-CEO Sam Altman, reportedly over internal disagreements about AI safety and speed of development. They then elevated the Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati as interim CEO. Mira Murati reportedly wanted to bring Altman back to the company alongside Brockman, who had resigned following Altman’s exit.

On the other hand, OpenAI investors had urged the Board of Directors to step down and reinstate Altman. However, the Board of Directors appointed Twitch’s ex-CEO Emmett Shear as the new CEO, closing the door on Altman and charting the path for his appointment at Microsoft.

It is not immediately clear how many people will be leaving OpenAI to join Microsoft. It also remains to be seen how OpenAI will manage its business commitments with several key individuals departing the company in such a manner.