Greg Brockman, the co-founder and president of OpenAI, announced his departure from the company on Friday. This came shortly after the sudden firing of OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, by the Microsoft-backed organization. Brockman’s decision to leave adds to the uncertainty surrounding OpenAI, especially following their recent developer conference led by Altman.
In a message to the OpenAI team, Brockman expressed his pride in the achievements they had made together over the past eight years. He acknowledged the challenges they had faced and the remarkable progress they had achieved despite the odds. However, based on the news of Altman’s dismissal, Brockman declared his resignation. He wished the team the best and reiterated his belief in OpenAI’s mission of creating safe artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of humanity.
OpenAI initially stated that Brockman would step down as chairman of the board but would remain with the company. As a co-founder of OpenAI and a trusted confidant of Altman, Brockman played a significant role in the organization.
The reasons behind Altman’s removal from OpenAI remain undisclosed. Both OpenAI and Microsoft, which owns approximately half of the company but is not represented on the board, have chosen not to reveal the details. Altman’s departure, along with Brockman’s, has sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley. Altman had been the public face of OpenAI, leading the AI race and becoming a key figure in the success of numerous startups that built on OpenAI’s offerings.
OpenAI announced Altman’s departure on Friday, stating that it was due to a loss of confidence from the board. They explained that a thorough review process had revealed Altman’s inconsistent communication with the board, hindering their ability to fulfill their responsibilities.
Further updates on this story are expected to follow.
