- By Ashish Singh
- Fri, 27 Sep 2024 04:42 PM (IST)
- Source:Reuters
Sam Altman refuted any connection between the departure of three top OpenAI executives and the company's upcoming restructuring, which he claimed the board has been debating for several months.
This comes after Mira Murati, the long-time chief technology officer of the top AI company in the world, abruptly announced her retirement. Barret Zoph and Bob McGrew, two senior research leaders, announced their departure from the organisation within hours of one another.
In an effort to attract investors, OpenAI is planning to convert its primary business into a for-profit benefit corporation that will no longer be governed by its non-profit board, according to a report published by Reuters on the same day.
OpenAI CEO Altman said during a speech on stage at the Italian Tech Week conference in Turin that "some stuff" that was reported about the executives' leaving was false and that the personnel changes had nothing to do with the restructuring.
The head of the automakers Stellantis and Ferrari, John Elkann, was the event organiser. "That's totally not true," he told him.
"A lot of the stuff I saw was also just totally wrong, but we have been thinking about that (restructuring), our board has, for almost a year, independently, as we think about what it takes to get to our next stage."
Praising the outgoing CEOs, Altman said he was eager to engage more closely with technical workers and streamline the organisation's structure.
"I have not been as involved in tech recently as other things, because there's been so much going on, I'm excited to do that," he stated.
"This will be, hopefully, a great transition for everyone involved, and OpenAI will be stronger for it, as we are for all our transitions."
Specifics of the planned restructuring shed light on important changes that have occurred behind the scenes at one of the leading AI businesses in the world.
At the time of writing, Reuters was informed by sources that the plans were still being worked out between solicitors and shareholders, and it was unclear when they would be finished.