• Source:IANS

Sam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, may be able to return to the AI technology and research organisation. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had already made an offer for him to run the company's AI research unit but has now stated that Altman may make a comeback in some role. This follows Nadella's announcement to CNBC that Microsoft wants Altman and former OpenAI president Greg Brockman for their firm, but there’s some possibility of him heading back to OpenAI.

"That's for the OpenAI board and management and the employees to choose," Nadella responded when asked if Altman would rejoin OpenAI. "Obviously, that depends on the people at OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft, so I'm open to both options." Microsoft had previously decided to explicitly partner with OpenAI.

READ: OpenAI News: More Than 500 Employees Threatened To Quit Firm Unless Board Resigns, Demands Comeback Of Altman

It appears that Altman's transfer to Microsoft is still up in the air because on Monday, over 500 OpenAI employees allegedly made threats to quit and work for Microsoft. There are almost 770 workers at OpenAI. According to various individuals who spoke with The Verge, Altman and Brockman are still open to rejoining OpenAI provided the other board members who dismissed him resign.

Microsoft, according to Nadella, would like to see "something change around the governance" at OpenAI going forward, which would include its interactions with investors. Despite having contributed more than $10 billion to OpenAI so far, Microsoft is not represented on the OpenAI board.

"We'll have a good dialogue with their board on that, and walk through that as that evolves," Nadella told CNBC. "It's clear something has to change around the governance," he added.

Previously, more than 500 existing OpenAI employees wrote a letter to the company's board on Monday stating that "Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join". Ilya Sutskever, the chief scientist at OpenAI, who allegedly spearheaded the movement to have Altman removed, said on X how sorry he is for his involvement in the board's decisions.

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"I never meant to cause harm to OpenAI. I adore everything we've created together, and I'll stop at nothing to bring the business back together," he said.