Sam Altman returns as OpenAI CEO with Microsoft board observer

Sam Altman officially returned as the chief executive officer of OpenAI days after his ouster from the ChatGPT creator. The artificial intelligence company's new board will include Microsoft as a non-voting observer.

The new initial board will consist of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo. Mira Murati, who was appointed as interim CEO after Altman’s ouster, will return to her role as chief technology officer (CTO).

"I have never been more excited about the future. I am extremely grateful for everyone's hard work in an unclear and unprecedented situation, and I believe our resilience and spirit set us apart in the industry. I feel so, so good about our probability of success for achieving our mission," OpenAI CEO Altman says in a statement.

Microsoft Corp, which has committed to invest $13 billion in OpenAI, owns a 49% stake in the company. The multibillion-dollar investment in the ChatGPT creator was announced earlier this year. Tech giant Microsoft is looking to commercialise advanced AI technologies across its consumer and enterprise products.

"They've had our backs and were ready to welcome all of us if we couldn't achieve our primary goal. We clearly made the right choice to partner with Microsoft and I'm excited that our new board will include them as a non-voting observer," says Altman.

OpenAI plans to advance its research plan and further invest in its safety efforts. "Our research roadmap is clear; this was a wonderfully focusing time. I share the excitement you all feel; we will turn this crisis into an opportunity," he says.

The company says its new board is focused on strengthening OpenAI's corporate governance. "We will build a qualified, diverse Board of exceptional individuals whose collective experience represents the breadth of OpenAI’s mission – from technology to safety to policy," says OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor.

"We will further stabilise the OpenAI organization so that we can continue to serve our mission. This will include convening an independent committee of the Board to oversee a review of the recent events. We will enhance the governance structure of OpenAI so that all stakeholders – users, customers, employees, partners, and community members – can trust that OpenAI will continue to thrive," says Taylor.

"ChatGPT has made artificial intelligence a part of daily life for hundreds of millions of people. Its popularity has made AI – its benefits and its risks – central to virtually every conversation about the future of governments, business, and society," Taylor says.

In September, Amazon said it would invest up to $4 billion in ChatGPT rival Anthropic, making the e-commerce giant a minority shareholder in the Alphabet-backed generative artificial intelligence (AI) startup. Google's parent owns a 10% stake in Anthropic.