Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella suggests that Sam Altman might return to OpenAI

In interviews connected CNBC and Bloomberg TV tonight, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made it clear that it’s imaginable Sam Altman, who was fired from his domiciled arsenic CEO astatine OpenAI by nan AI startup’s committee of board connected Friday, could return to OpenAI successful immoderate capacity.

That’s contempt nan truth that Altman announced this greeting that he intended to join a newly-formed AI investigation squad astatine Microsoft alongside ex-OpenAI president Greg Brockman and respective erstwhile OpenAI researchers.

“Obviously, we want Sam and Greg to person a awesome location if they’re not going to beryllium successful OpenAI,” Nadella said successful an question and reply connected CNBC. Asked whether Altman would return to OpenAI, Nadella added: “That’s for, you know, [the] OpenAI committee and guidance and nan labor to take … [Microsoft] chose to explicitly partner pinch OpenAI [and] evidently that depends connected nan group astatine OpenAI staying location aliases coming to Microsoft, truthful I’m unfastened to some options.”

Nadella’s responses seemingly corroborate reporting earlier coming from The Verge, which suggested that Altman’s move to Microsoft wasn’t a done woody and that — pinch nan caller change of heart from OpenAI main intelligence Ilya Sutskever, nan reported mastermind down Altman’s departure — only 2 of OpenAI’s 3 remaining committee members request to flip to bring backmost Altman. (Brockman was deposed arsenic nan board’s president connected Friday, and Altman formerly held nan sixth seat.)

Nadella besides said that Microsoft would want to spot “something alteration astir nan governance” astatine OpenAI going forward, including astir its investor relations. (Microsoft, on pinch OpenAI’s different backers and astir of OpenAI’s employees, are said to person been notified of Altman’s sacking “minutes” earlier it was made public.) OpenAI is governed by a nonprofit to which nan committee belongs, and investors — including Microsoft, which has poured complete $10 cardinal into OpenAI to date  — don’t person seats connected said board.

“It’s clear thing has to alteration astir nan governance — we’ll person a bully speech pinch their committee connected that, and locomotion done that arsenic that evolves,” Nadella said connected CNBC.

It’s been a rollercoaster astatine OpenAI since Altman’s firing, to opportunity nan least.

Over nan weekend, OpenAI’s guidance squad and backers — including CTO Mira Murat, who was concisely appointed interim CEO — began vetting candidates to switch nan committee for Altman’s imaginable return. Meanwhile, nan committee conducted its ain CEO search, yet settling connected Emmett Shear, nan co-founder of Twitch, aft GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and Scale AI CEO Alex Wang declined offers.

Shear, who has a colorful history, turned retired to beryllium a arguable prime internally. Employees reportedly refused to be an emergency all-hands scheduled connected Sunday pinch Shear, responding to nan announcement successful OpenAI’s Slack pinch a “fuck you” emoji.

OpenAI’s rank-and-file, speaking of, is successful wide revolt — much than 700 of nan company’s astir 770 employees, including Sutskever, person signed a missive calling for nan committee to resign and reinstate Altman. Among others, Salesforce has attempted to usage nan unrest arsenic a recruitment opportunity, offering matching compensation to immoderate interrogator who’s discontinue OpenAI to subordinate Salesforce AI investigation team.

Not helping matters is nan board’s reluctance to springiness elaborate reasoning for firing Altman. Shear said successful a statement to labor Sunday that his first bid of business would beryllium to “hire an independent interrogator to excavation into nan full process starring up to this constituent and make a afloat report.”