OpenAI’s latest round of investment comes as the company works to turn itself into a for-profit company. The original founders included Elon Musk, who provided $45 million in early funding. After Musk parted ways with the company, Altman turned it into a capped for-profit enterprise overseen by a board of directors that does not answer to investors. Last November’s attempted coup proved this structure to be in direct conflict with a fast-growing, heavily backed technology business.
One former OpenAI staffer, who similarly asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that the product focus continued to cause tension, and said they had been told by current staff to expect more turmoil at the company.
Other ex-staffers say the picture inside the company is complex. “The mood is bleak for some and not for others,” one person said.
When asked about the situation, OpenAI referred WIRED to a message that Altman sent to staff after the departures of Murati, McGrew, and Zoph, which he also shared on X. In the note Altman names several researchers who will step into more senior roles, including Mark Chen, who will become a senior vice president of research, and Jakub Pachocki, who becomes the company’s chief scientist.
“Leadership changes are a natural part of companies, especially companies that grow so quickly and are so demanding,” Altman wrote. “I obviously won’t pretend it’s natural for this one to be so abrupt, but we are not a normal company.”
“If you think that a few individuals have some special sauce, and that has just walked out the door, then that’s a problem,” says Simon Johnson, a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
However, Johnson says that OpenAI’s loss may well turn out to be a gain for the rest of the tech industry.
“I think we need a lot more competition in AI; we need a lot more business models; and we need a lot more smart people coming up with constructive things,” he adds. “So I’m very comfortable with the people leaving.”
When OpenAI’s board ousted CEO Sam Altman last November, staff threatened to quit in protest, and many shared the slogan “OpenAI is nothing without its people” on X. The company seems determined to test how replaceable some of its key people really are.
