one year on
OpenAI staff threaten to quit unless board resigns
More than 730 OpenAI employees sign an open letter demanding the board resign and reinstate Sam Altman, or they will join him at Microsoft
OpenAI is in open revolt today as more than 730 employees — roughly 95 percent of the company — have signed an open letter threatening to resign unless the board resigns and reinstates Sam Altman as CEO, along with cofounder Greg Brockman. The letter, addressed to the board, states: “The process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brockman from the board has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company.”
Remarkably, signatories include Ilya Sutskever, the company’s chief scientist and a member of its board, who has been blamed for coordinating the boardroom coup against Altman in the first place. In a post on X, Sutskever expressed regret and a desire to reunite the company. Besides calling for the current board — made up of Ilya Sutskever, Adam D’Angelo, Helen Toner, and Tasha McCauley — to resign, the letter requests that two new independent lead board members, Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, be appointed. Signees also call for the reinstatement of Altman and Brockman.
The ultimatum follows a chaotic weekend. Altman was fired on Friday, reportedly for not being “consistently candid” with the board. Over the weekend, negotiations to bring him back collapsed, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Altman and Brockman would join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research unit. Nadella appeared to leave the door open to any OpenAI employees eager to jump ship, adding that Microsoft looks forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success.
On Hacker News, the story reached 1441 points and 1260 comments as of this writing. Commenters debate Microsoft’s legal rights to ChatGPT’s intellectual property, the motivations of board members, and the possibility that Microsoft could effectively acqui-hire most of OpenAI. One user noted that Microsoft has full rights to ChatGPT IP, and can just fork ChatGPT. Another remarked: “This could end up being the cheapest acquisition for Microsoft: They get a $90 billion company for peanuts.” The thread reflects a mix of technical analysis, skepticism about Microsoft’s history with partners, and dark humor about the situation.
The record
posted on X that he deeply regrets his participation in the board's actions and will do everything to reunite the company
announced on X that Altman and Brockman will join Microsoft to head a new advanced AI research unit, leaving the door open for OpenAI employees
speculate about Microsoft's rights to ChatGPT IP, motives of board members, and the potential for Microsoft to acquire OpenAI's talent and technology
One year later — open only if you can handle spoilers
The letter ultimately succeeded: most of the board resigned, Altman returned as CEO, and OpenAI restructured its governance. Microsoft emerged with a deeper partnership but not an outright acquisition. The saga cemented Altman's control and highlighted tensions between commercialization and safety in AI development.
The Weekly Replay · free by email
This week, one year ago — every Sunday.
One email each Sunday: the week's replayed AI news, with the one-year-later annotations included. Written like it's breaking — dated like it isn't.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · privacy