Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced on Monday that ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, along with co-founder Greg Brockman, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.
Tech industry news site The Information had reported on Sunday that Altman will not return as the CEO of OpenAI, and would be replaced by ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, citing board director Ilya Sutskever's statement to company's staff.
Former OpenAI President and co-founder Brockman quit over Altman's firing on Friday.
What does Altman's removal mean?
The tech world was shocked by Altman's sacking at OpenAI, which released ChatGPT last year, and quickly rose to fame as one of the world's fastest growing software applications.
Many emplyoees were also blindsided by the abrupt change in management.
Microsoft is OpenAI’s key business partner and has invested billions of dollars into the startup and helped provide the computing power to run its AI systems.
Major investors had pushed for reinstating him. However, the board stood by its decision, saying it was "the only path to advance and defend the mission of OpenAI," reported The New York Times.
"Put simply, Sam's behavior and lack of transparency in his interactions with the board undermined the board's ability to effectively supervise the company in the manner it was mandated to do," the board said in the memo.
Investors had said Altman's sudden removal could lead to an exodus of talent from the company, and affect an upcoming $86 billion share sale.