Sam Altman to return as OpenAI chief

STORY: He was out, but not for long.

Sam Altman is returning as chief executive of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.

The move caps an astonishing few days of office intrigue.

Altman was ousted from the AI startup on Friday (November 17), with the board saying he was guilty of communication failures.

The move rocked the tech sector, with Altman widely seen as the face of the AI boom.

It also came as a shock to investors, including major OpenAI backer Microsoft.

The weekend then saw apparent efforts by executives to have Altman restored.

Hundreds of OpenAI staff also threatened to quit unless he was brought back.

But the board refused to budge, instead installing former Twitch chief Emmett Shear as interim CEO.

Microsoft then said Altman would join it to run a new research unit.

Now the AI pioneer says it will bring back Altman after all.

In a post on X, he said he was looking forward to returning.

At the same time, the OpenAI board will get a shakeup, with new faces brought in.

Among them is former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.

Microsoft chief Satya Nadella welcomed the changes, saying they put OpenAI on track for more stable and effective governance.