Almost all employees of OpenAI have asked the company's current board of directors to resign, otherwise they will leave OpenAI and follow the previously dismissed Sam Altman to Microsoft. The future of this artificial intelligence start-up will face greater uncertainty. On Monday, more than 700 of OpenAI's approximately 770 employees signed a letter saying it was "unable to work for someone who lacks the ability, judgment, and care for our mission and employees."
They urged all board members to resign and reinstate Altman, or else leave for Microsoft en masse. The letter also noted that Microsoft "has committed to providing positions to all OpenAI employees."
Altman was abruptly fired last Friday, kicking off a tumultuous weekend. Microsoft, which owns almost half of OpenAI, then invited Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman to lead a new internal artificial intelligence research team.
Altman was ousted from OpenAI, which he co-founded, throwing the company into turmoil. ThriveCapital was originally expected to take the lead in purchasing employee shares, a deal that would value OpenAI at $86 billion. As of the weekend, the company had not transferred the funds and told OpenAI that Altman's departure would affect its operations.
Some investors are considering writing down the value of their OpenAI holdings to zero, according to a person briefed on the discussions. The potential move would make it harder for the company to raise additional capital and appears designed to pressure the board to resign and bring Altman back to the company.
OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati (who briefly served as interim CEO) signed the joint letter, as did OpenAI co-founder and board member Ilya Sutskever, who is believed to have played a key role in last Friday's board action.
Sutskever posted on social media X on Monday that he deeply regretted his involvement in the board's actions. "I never meant to hurt OpenAI. I love what we have built together and I will do whatever I can to restore unity to the company," he wrote.
The content of the letter is as follows:
To the OpenAI Board of Directors:
OpenAI is the world's leading artificial intelligence company. We, the folks at OpenAI, develop the best models that push the field toward new frontiers. Our work on AI safety and governance shapes global standards. The products we build are used by millions of people around the world. Until now, the company we work for and value has never been in a stronger position.
Your process of firing Sam Altman and removing Greg Brockman from the board of directors jeopardized all of our work and undermined our mission and our company. Your actions clearly demonstrate your inability to oversee OpenAI.
When we unexpectedly learned of your decision, OpenAI's leadership team took quick action to stabilize the company. They listened carefully to your concerns and tried to work with you in every aspect. Despite our repeated requests for specific facts about the allegations, you have never provided any written evidence. They are also increasingly aware that you are unable to fulfill your responsibilities and are negotiating in bad faith.
The leadership team recommends that the most stable path forward, and the path that is best for our mission, the company, our stakeholders, our employees, and the public, is for you to resign and form a qualified Board of Directors capable of leading the company steadily forward.
The leadership team works with you around the clock to find mutually acceptable solutions. However, within two days of your initial decision, you once again replaced interim CEO Mira Murati without regard to the best interests of the company. You also informed the leadership team that allowing the company to be destroyed was "consistent with the mission."
Your actions clearly demonstrate your inability to police OpenAI. We cannot work for or with anyone who lacks ability, judgment, and concern for our mission and our people. We, the undersigned, may choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly formed Microsoft subsidiary led by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft assured us that if we chose to join this new subsidiary, there would be positions available for all OpenAI employees. We will take this step immediately unless all current board members resign and the board appoints two new independent chairs, Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, and reinstates Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.