OpenAI Focuses Solely on Altman’s Position… "Pushing for Investor Return" (Comprehensive)

"Investors Move Amid Loss Concerns"
MS Also Shows Support... Instead "Governance Change Essential"
Altman Also Willing to Return... Board's Actions in Focus

The entire generative artificial intelligence (AI) industry is abuzz over the whereabouts of Sam Altman, the "father of ChatGPT." Although it seemed certain that Altman would join Microsoft (MS), he hinted at the possibility of returning if the current OpenAI board, which dismissed him, is replaced, sparking a flood of demands for board changes both inside and outside OpenAI.

If Altman returns, significant changes are expected in OpenAI's corporate structure, which has so far made closed decisions as a nonprofit organization. Conversely, if he ultimately fails to return and joins MS, concerns are rising over the disruption of OpenAI's monopolistic market structure and a potential weakening of its competitiveness.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI [Photo by Reuters]

Investors Step In Again as OpenAI Board Ignores Demands

On the 20th (local time), Bloomberg News reported, citing multiple sources, that OpenAI investors such as Strive Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Tiger Global Management are pushing for the reinstatement of former CEO Altman. This move is interpreted as a proactive response following the sudden dismissal of Altman by the OpenAI board on the 17th, which raised the possibility of significant investment losses.

Some investors are reportedly considering legal action against the board for pushing the dismissal without informing them, according to major foreign media citing sources.

Immediately after the dismissal announcement, OpenAI faced strong backlash from investors and has been negotiating with former CEO Altman for his return. However, the board declared negotiations broken off the day before, stating they could not accept Altman's demands for management restructuring, and announced the appointment of Emmett Shear, Twitch's founder, as interim CEO.

Following this, Satya Nadella, CEO of MS, OpenAI's largest shareholder, announced Altman's move to MS. Nadella wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account, "I am very excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman (former OpenAI board chairman and co-founder) will join MS with their colleagues to lead a new AI research team."

After the announcement, about 700 OpenAI employees signed a petition stating they would resign if Altman is not reinstated, putting the company's very existence in jeopardy.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

MS CEO: "Wherever Sam is, we will collaborate with MS"

Satya Nadella, CEO of MS, which holds 49% of OpenAI's shares and is its largest shareholder, also expressed that he would not block Altman's return to OpenAI.

After posting on X that day, he told Bloomberg Television and CNBC in interviews, "Wherever Sam is, he is collaborating with MS." He said he still has not heard the reasons for Altman's dismissal and emphasized, "I have confidence in Sam, his leadership, and his abilities." Regarding OpenAI employees, he said both staying at the current company and moving to MS are open options.

However, Nadella argued that OpenAI's current board should resign and that OpenAI's governance must be changed to prevent such incidents from recurring. When asked if MS needs to secure board seats at OpenAI, he replied, "It is clear that some changes need to be made in terms of governance," adding, "We will have good conversations with the OpenAI board and work to resolve the situation."

CNBC explained that his remarks "did not resolve the confusion over where Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman will ultimately go."

While investors including MS want Altman to return to OpenAI, multiple sources told tech media The Verge that Altman himself appears willing to return. However, like MS, Altman reportedly insists that the current board that dismissed him must step down as a condition.

The Shaky Fate of OpenAI Depends on Altman's Whereabouts

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

OpenAI's future seems to hinge on two scenarios: Altman's return or his joining MS. If Altman returns, OpenAI's corporate structure is expected to change significantly. Currently, OpenAI is registered as a nonprofit, limiting voting rights of major investors. MS currently holds 49% of OpenAI's shares, other investors hold 49%, and OpenAI board members hold 2%, but voting rights of investors outside the board have been restricted, causing dissatisfaction among investors.

Moreover, since most OpenAI employees have declared they would resign depending on Altman's whereabouts, the ripple effects within the AI industry are expected to be significant. The U.S. economic media Business Insider predicted that although many former CEO Altman and employees have expressed willingness to move, it is unlikely they will be able to bring ChatGPT and the large language models (LLMs) used in it. Consequently, OpenAI employees joining MS may have to develop their own AI models from scratch, which would require several months and enormous funding.

Business Insider questioned, "Will MS continue to support OpenAI in this case, or where will OpenAI go to obtain semiconductors, servers, and data centers to provide ChatGPT services?" It also predicted that AI startups operating their own services based on ChatGPT will inevitably suffer damage.

Furthermore, it is uncertain whether all these developers, who are valuable assets in the AI industry, will simultaneously move to MS. If companies like Google or Meta manage to poach key personnel leaving OpenAI, they could benefit from this incident. Already, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff posted on X that he would offer appropriate compensation to OpenAI researchers and that they would soon work in Salesforce's Einstein Trustworthy AI research team.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.