OpenAI CEO denies exit of three executives linked to for-profit plans

Turin — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied on Thursday that there was any link between the departure of three senior executives and a planned restructuring of the company, which he said the board had been considering for several months.

The world-leading artificial intelligence (AI) company’s longtime chief technology officer Mira Murati abruptly announced her departure on Wednesday. Within hours, two senior research executives Barret Zoph and Bob McGrew revealed they were also leaving the company.

On the same day, reports said OpenAI was working on a plan to restructure its core business into a for-profit benefit corporation that would no longer be controlled by its nonprofit board, in a move aimed at making the company more attractive to investors.

Altman said at the Italian Tech Week conference in Turin that “some stuff” reported around the executives’ departures was inaccurate, adding that the personnel changes were unrelated to the restructuring.

“That’s totally not true,” he told event organiser John Elkann, the chair of car companies Ferrari and Stellantis.

“A lot of the stuff I saw was also just totally wrong, but we have been thinking about that [restructuring], our board, for almost a year, independently, as we think about what it takes to get to our next stage.”

Altman praised the departing executives, adding he was excited to simplify the company’s structure and work more closely with technical staff.

“I have not been as involved in the tech recently as other things, because there’s been so much going on, I’m excited to do that,” he said.

“This will be, hopefully, a great transition for everyone involved, and OpenAI will be stronger for it, as we are for all our transitions.”

Details of the proposed restructure highlight big changes behind the scenes at one of the world’s top AI companies.

Sources said the plans were still being negotiated between lawyers and shareholders with the timeline for completion still uncertain.

Reuters