OpenAI Inc’s biggest investors are pressing the company to reinstate Sam Altman as chief executive officer after the board’s stunning decision to sack him on Friday, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Microsoft Corp, the start-up’s biggest backer with a more than US$10 billion stake, is working with investors including Thrive Capital Management LLC and Tiger Global Management LLC to bring back Altman, said the sources, who asked to remain anonymous discussing private information.
As part of the effort to reinstate the CEO, investors are also pressing for the replacement of the current board, the sources said. The directors have considered stepping down, though they are currently balking at such a move, they said.
Photo: AP
The situation is fluid and final plans have not been set. If the board steps down, investors are reviewing a list of possible new directors. One contender is Bret Taylor, the former co-CEO of Salesforce Inc.
The OpenAI board has been subjected to intense criticism over its decision to remove Altman, which came as a surprise to both investors and to Altman himself.
Over the years, Altman pushed hard to change the company from a nonprofit to a commercially successful business and was the driving force behind new tools that have revolutionized the way people complete tasks from homework to coding. His ouster did not sit well with the firms that backed OpenAI.
Thrive, which was expected to lead a tender offer for employee shares, has not yet wired the money and has made it clear to OpenAI that Altman’s departure would affect its actions.
Thrive, the largest OpenAI investor aside from Microsoft, is working to reinstate both Altman and Greg Brockman, the start-up’s president, who quit on Friday in protest.
Altman is open to returning to the company, some of the sources said.
However, if he were to return, he would ask for changes in the way the company is governed, they said.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been in touch with Altman and pledged to support him in whatever steps he takes next, the sources said.
Nadella was blindsided by the board’s decision, the sources said.
Several employees, including OpenAI co-founder Brockman, have departed the company in protest following Altman’s ouster. The resignations are likely to continue, the sources said.
If he does not return, Altman has been considering launching a new venture, possibly with former staffers of OpenAI, they said.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla said that his firm wanted Altman “back at OpenAI but will back him in whatever he does next.”
In a memo to OpenAI staff on Saturday, chief operating officer Brad Lightcap said Altman’s ousting “was not made in response to malfeasance” or the company’s financial or safety practices.
The decision to force Altman out “took us all by surprise,” and he has since spoken with the board to better understand its decision, Lightcap wrote in a memo, which was viewed by Bloomberg.
“This was a breakdown in communication between Sam and the board,” Lightcap wrote, adding that Microsoft “remains fully committed” as an investor.
RUN IT BACK: A succesful first project working with hyperscalers to design chips encouraged MediaTek to start a second project, aiming to hit stride in 2028 MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip supplier, yesterday said it is engaging a second hyperscaler to help design artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators used in data centers following a similar project expected to generate revenue streams soon. The first AI accelerator project is to bring in US$1 billion revenue next year and several billion US dollars more in 2027, MediaTek chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) told a virtual investor conference yesterday. The second AI accelerator project is expected to contribute to revenue beginning in 2028, Tsai said. MediaTek yesterday raised its revenue forecast for the global AI accelerator used
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has secured three construction permits for its plan to build a state-of-the-art A14 wafer fab in Taichung, and is likely to start construction soon, the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, Wang Chun-chieh (王俊傑), deputy director general of the science park bureau, said the world’s largest contract chipmaker has received three construction permits — one to build a fab to roll out sophisticated chips, another to build a central utility plant to provide water and electricity for the facility and the other to build three office buildings. With the three permits, TSMC
The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors
BREAKTHROUGH TECH: Powertech expects its fan-out PLP system to become mainstream, saying it can offer three-times greater production throughput Chip packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) plans to more than double its capital expenditures next year to more than NT$40 billion (US$1.31 billion) as demand for its new panel-level packaging (PLP) technology, primarily used in chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, has greatly exceeded what it can supply. A significant portion of the budget, about US$1 billion, would be earmarked for fan-out PLP technology, Powertech told investors yesterday. Its heavy investment in fan-out PLP technology over the past 10 years is expected to bear fruit in 2027 after the technology enters volume production, it said, adding that the tech would
RSS