Five hundred OpenAI employees have expressed their intention to join Microsoft if Sam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, and Greg Brockman, a co-founder of OpenAI, are not reinstated.
The employees have written a letter to the OpenAI board, stating that they will resign if Altman and Brockman are not reinstated, Business Today reported.
The employees reportedly accused the board of undermining their work and the company’s mission. They also reject the notion that OpenAI was advancing too quickly without proper safety considerations, read the report.
They also demanded the current board members of the company to resign.
“We will take this step imminently, unless all current board members resign, and the board appoints two new lead independent directors, such as Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, and reinstates Sam Altman and Greg Brockman,” Business Today quoted the letter.
Meanwhile, Altman and Brockman are joining Microsoft to lead a new team for advanced research in Artificial Intelligence, IT major’s CEO Satya Nadella announced on Monday (November 20, 2023).
“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,” Nadella wrote on X.
“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,” he said.
Nadella’s post was shared by Altman with the message, “The mission continues.”
In response to Altman’s tweet, Nadella wrote: “I’m super excited to have you join as CEO of this new group, Sam, setting a new pace for innovation. We’ve learned a lot over the years about how to give founders and innovators space to build independent identities and cultures within Microsoft, including GitHub, Mojang Studios, and LinkedIn, and I’m looking forward to having you do the same.”
Last week, OpenAI sacked CEO Sam Altman prompting the co-founder Greg Brockman to quit soon after.
Meanwhile, OpenAI has named former Twitch CEO and co-founder Emmett Shear as the company’s interim CEO.