- OpenAI's board no longer has confidence in his ability to lead the company
- He secured funding for WorldCoin in the amount of $100 million this year
The board of directors of OpenAI, Inc., which governs all OpenAI activities, announced in a blog post that Sam Altman will step down as CEO and leave the board. He will be replaced by Mira Murati, chief technology officer of OpenAI, effective immediately.
His WorldCoin project, which involves eye scanning, lost 11% on the news according to CoinMarketCap data.
Board has lost confidence in Altman’s leadership
The board carried out a purposeful review process and found Altman failed to be consistently candid in his communications with other members of the board, which challenged its ability to execute its tasks. As a result, the board “no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” the post states.
The board said in a statement:
OpenAI was deliberately structured to advance our mission: to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity. The board remains fully committed to serving this mission. We are grateful for Sam’s many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI. At the same time, we believe new leadership is necessary as we move forward.
Mira Murati has been on OpenAI’s leadership team for five years. She led the company’s research, product, and safety functions prior to her appointment as interim CEO. She has a long history with the company and a close engagement with all its aspects, including experience in AI policy and governance. This qualifies her for the role of interim CEO according to the board, which is carrying out a formal search for a permanent one.
OpenAI restructured from a non-profit in 2019
OpenAI was established as a non-profit organization in 2015. Its main mission involved ensuring that AI benefits humankind, putting it in the division of strong AI. It moved to weak AI in 2019, when it started raising capital reportedly in pursuit of the outlined mission and goals. Elon Musk, one of the investors in OpenAI, withdrew his support after the transition.
In May this year, Altman secured funding for WorldCoin in the amount of $100 million.
