The investigation concluded that Altman's conduct did not necessitate his removal and that both Altman and Greg Brockman, the company's president who also left the board, were the right leaders for the company. The company plans to make improvements to its governance structure, including adopting new corporate governance guidelines, strengthening conflict of interest policies, creating a whistleblower hotline, and establishing additional board committees. OpenAI still faces legal challenges, including a lawsuit from co-founder Elon Musk and copyright violation allegations from several news outlets.
Key takeaways:
- OpenAI has reinstated Sam Altman as CEO and added him back to its board of directors, expressing "full confidence" in his leadership following an outside investigation into his abrupt firing and rehiring in November.
- The investigation, conducted by law firm WilmerHale, concluded that Altman's ouster was due to a breakdown in the relationship and loss of trust between him and the prior board, but his conduct did not mandate removal.
- OpenAI has added three women to its board of directors: Sue Desmond-Hellman, Nicole Seligman, and Fidji Simo, as part of its efforts to move past the internal conflicts that nearly destroyed it last year.
- OpenAI is facing a lawsuit from Elon Musk, who alleges that the company is betraying its founding mission in pursuit of profits, and has also been sued by several news outlets over allegations that their generative artificial intelligence products violated copyright laws.