MicrosoftChief Technology Officer Kevin Scott said Tuesday that after Sam Altman was abruptly removed as CEO,OpenAI Hundreds of employees threatened to quit, and Microsoft offered them jobs with matching pay.
“Dear OpenAI partners: We saw your petition and appreciate your interest in potentially joiningSam Altman's aspirations at Microsoft's new AI research lab"You can be a part of this conversation," Scott said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday. "Know that there is a role at Microsoft that matches your compensation, if needed, and advances our shared mission."
It's unclear if the offer is contingent on Altman's employment at Microsoft. However, the post provides some idea of how much Microsoft is willing to pay employees and how many employees it will hire.
OpenAI’s future remains uncertain, and it’s unclear where Altman will work.
On Monday morning, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said,Altman, Greg Brockman, who resigned as president of OpenAI, and their colleagues will join a new artificial intelligence research group established by MicrosoftSubsequently, more than 600 OpenAI employees signed a letter to the company's board of directors, threatening thatUnless the board resigns, they will join their former boss at Microsoft.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella after Altman stepped downfirstIn an interview with the media, he said: "At this point,I think it's pretty clear that OpenAI's governance has to change.Nadella did not explicitly say in the interview that Altman and Brockman would join Microsoft, suggesting a change in circumstances from an announcement earlier in the day.
“We chose to work explicitly with OpenAI, and we expect to continue to do so,” Nadella said.Obviously it depends on whether the OpenAI people stay there or come to Microsoft. So I'm open to both options., but there is one thing I will not stop innovating.”
OpenAI’s board of directors said in a statement that based on their investigation, they fired Altman because they believed he was “less than candid” in his communications with the board.Former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear announced that he has been appointed interim CEO of the company.
Now, OpenAI's board of directors consists of just four people: OpenAI's chief scientist Ilya Sutskever (who signed the letter threatening to leave), Adam D'Angelo, Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner. They did not elaborate on why Altman was fired.
Sutskever expressed deep "regret" for his involvement in the board's decision in a post on X on Monday.