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OpenAI Investors Consider Suing the Board after firing Sam Altman amid 700 Staff Resigning

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

The news of Sam Altman’s dismissal as the CEO of OpenAI, the research organization dedicated to creating artificial general intelligence (AGI), has shocked the AI community and sparked a legal dispute among its investors. According to sources familiar with the matter, some of the investors who backed OpenAI with $1 billion in 2019 are unhappy with the board’s decision to fire Altman and are considering taking legal action against them.

The reasons behind Altman’s firing are not clear, but some speculate that it has to do with his controversial vision for OpenAI and its future products. Altman, who was previously the president of Y Combinator, joined OpenAI as its CEO in March 2019, with the goal of leading the organization towards creating AGI that can benefit humanity. He also oversaw the launch of OpenAI’s commercial arm, OpenAI LP, which aimed to generate revenue from its AI technologies while maintaining its ethical and social mission.

However, some of the investors who funded OpenAI LP were reportedly dissatisfied with Altman’s leadership and direction, especially after the release of GPT-3, the powerful natural language processing system that can generate coherent and diverse texts on almost any topic.

GPT-3 has been hailed as a breakthrough in AI research, but it has also raised concerns about its potential misuse and impact on society. Some investors feared that Altman was planning to use GPT-3 and other AI systems to create a new platform that would compete with existing tech giants and disrupt various industries.

700 employees OpenAI tell the board to resign.

700 employees of OpenAI, the leading artificial intelligence research organization, have signed a letter demanding that the board of directors resign immediately. The letter, which was leaked to the media, accuses the board of mismanagement, lack of transparency, and ethical violations.

The letter states that the board has failed to uphold the vision and mission of OpenAI, which is to ensure that artificial intelligence is aligned with human values and can benefit all of humanity. The letter also claims that the board has interfered with the research agenda, suppressed dissenting voices, and favored certain projects over others without clear criteria or justification.

The letter cites several examples of the board’s alleged misconduct, such as:

The controversial decision to create and license GPT-3, a powerful natural language processing system, to Microsoft, without consulting the researchers or the broader AI community.

The lack of oversight and accountability for the OpenAI Codex project, which aims to create a general-purpose programming system that can generate code from natural language.

The dismissal of several prominent researchers who raised ethical concerns or criticized the direction of OpenAI.

The secrecy and exclusivity surrounding the OpenAI Scholars program, which provides funding and mentorship to underrepresented groups in AI.

The neglect and marginalization of other important research areas, such as fairness, safety, and social impact of AI.

The letter concludes by calling for a complete overhaul of the governance structure of OpenAI, including:

The resignation of the current board members: Sam Altman (CEO), Ilya Sutskever (Research Director), Greg Brockman (CTO), Elon Musk (Founder), Reid Hoffman (Founder), Peter Thiel (Founder), Jessica Livingston (Founder), and Srinivasan Balaji (Investor).

The establishment of a new board that reflects the diversity and expertise of the OpenAI community and the broader AI stakeholders. The creation of a transparent and democratic process for electing and evaluating board members and setting the strategic direction of OpenAI.

The adoption of a code of ethics and conduct that guides the research and development of OpenAI and ensures its alignment with human values and social good.

The letter ends by expressing hope that OpenAI can regain its reputation and credibility as a leader in artificial intelligence research and innovation and reaffirming the commitment of the signatories to work towards this goal.

According to one source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, some investors felt that Altman was “too ambitious and reckless” and that he was “putting OpenAI’s reputation and mission at risk”. They also claimed that Altman was not transparent enough with the board and the investors about his plans and strategies, and that he did not consult them before making important decisions. The source said that some investors tried to persuade Altman to change his course and align with their interests, but he refused to do so.

The tension between Altman and some of the investors reached a boiling point last week, when the board of OpenAI decided to fire him as the CEO. The board consists of seven members, including co-founders Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, as well as Reid Hoffman, Jessica Livingston, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, and Srinivasan Balaji. The board did not disclose the reasons for Altman’s dismissal but issued a statement thanking him for his contributions and announcing that Brockman, the CTO of OpenAI, will take over as the interim CEO.

The firing of Altman has triggered a backlash from some of the investors who supported him and his vision for OpenAI. They believe that the board acted unfairly and violated their contractual rights as shareholders of OpenAI LP. They also argue that Altman was the best person to lead OpenAI towards achieving its goal of creating AGI that can benefit humanity. They are now considering suing the board for breach of fiduciary duty, wrongful termination, and other claims.

The legal dispute could have serious implications for OpenAI and its future projects. It could also affect the relationship between OpenAI and its partners, customers, and collaborators, who rely on its AI technologies and services. Moreover, it could damage the reputation and credibility of OpenAI as a leading AI research organization that aims to ensure that AGI is aligned with human values and can be used for good.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Reveals Possibility of Sacked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s Return to The Company

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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During an interview session with CNBC and Bloomberg TV last night, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed the possibility of ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, returning to the company despite his departure.

This is coming after Microsoft had quickly appointed Altman and former OpenAI president Greg Brockman and several other employees to lead Microsoft’s new advanced AI research team.

During the interview Satya said,

“We think we are leading in this next generation of AI technology, we continue to be committed to OpenAI and we continue to be committed to Sam and Greg and the team irrespective of where they are.

“I think about Sam as chosen multiple times now to work with us and that is fantastic to see. I think the real thing is that the capability that Microsoft has across the tech stacks is what attracts great people like Sam and we are thrilled about it”.

Asked whether Altman would return to OpenAI, Nadella said, “That’s for you know, OpenAI board and management and the employees to choose. Microsoft chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI and that depends on the people at OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft, so I’m open to both options”.

He further maintained that Microsoft will open its doors to Sam, Greg, and OpenAI employees as part of its commitment and partnership to the AI technology company.

OpenAI’s decision to sack Sam Altman is reported to have infuriated the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, who is a major OpenAI investor and partner of the company. Nadella was said to be playing a key mediating role between the board and Altman and further pledged to support Altman no matter the outcome.

Recall that Altman was reported to have walked out from negotiations after the company tried to reinstate him. He further gave conditions to be met if he would consider a return to the company.

According to sources, Altman made two key demands concerning his reinstatement as CEO of OpenAI, both of which were non-negotiable. First, he demanded that the board members who fired him resign immediately from the board and that new members be elected by the investors as well as Nadella.

The second condition, according to reports is that Altman demanded that all future virtual meetings, across all verticals and levels to take place through Microsoft Teams, and not Google Meet through which he was fired.

Microsoft CEO Nadella during his recent interview said it’s clear something has to change around the governance at OpenAI, noting that he will have a good dialogue with the board on that, and walk through that as that evolves.

It is likely that if Altman’s conditions are not met, there is a possibility of him not returning to the company as he is already excited about his new adventure at Microsoft, with plans to replicate his successes while at OpenAI, which saw him raise the company’s valuation to $80 billion in a few years.

It is worth noting that OpenAI has been under heavy criticism since the firing of its most influential personality and former CEO Sam Altman.

In a recent development, nearly all OpenAI staff members have threatened to quit unless all board members resign and ex-CEO Sam Altman is reappointed, according to the latest count of staffers who have signed a letter demanding his return.

The number of employees who have signed has been rising through the day on Monday, and now includes nearly all of OpenAI’s workforce of 770.

Also, some OpenAI investors, are exploring legal recourse against the company’s board, sources familiar with the matter disclosed.

These investors worry they could lose hundreds of millions of dollars they invested in OpenAI, following the recent turmoil at the company.

Due to the heatt the company has been receiving from every corner, Co-founder of OpenAI who helped oust Sam Altman has recently put out a post on X, apologizing for his role in kicking out Altman from the company.

He wrote,

“I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we’ve built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.”

Responding to the Tweet, X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote,

“Why did you take such a drastic action? If OpenAI is doing something potentially dangerous to humanity, the world needs to know”.

The matter currently ongoing between OpenAI and Sam Altman has continued to be one of the most talked about topics on the internet, as people anticipate the next outcome.

Salesforce is making a bold play for disgruntled OpenAI staff, with Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff saying the cloud-based software firm “will match any OpenAI researcher who has tendered their resignation full cash and equity” to join its AI team. So far, more than 700 of 770 of OpenAI staffers have signed a letter calling for Sam Altman’s reinstatement as OpenAI CEO. Otherwise, they “may choose to resign” and try to follow Altman to Microsoft, though The Verge, citing anonymous sources, reports Altman is trying to flip at least two board members to reclaim his CEO role at OpenAI. (LinkedIn News)

Shoptreo, A Tekedia Capital Portfolio, Is Africa’s Leading B2B Fashion Ecommerce Startup

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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0

I am very excited to welcome the Aba boys to Tekedia Capital. Shoptreo is a pioneering B2B fashion platform in Nigeria, which connects fashion manufacturers (yes, tailors, shoemakers, etc) in the informal sector to distributors and bulk sellers globally. Powered by the trio of innovation, customer-centricity, and pursuit of excellence, they have great results.

They’ve also expanded to Kano for textile, and recently closed a deal to supply 10,000 pairs of shoes to Jamaican companies, providing enormous economic opportunities to shoe manufacturers in Nigeria.

Made in Nigeria and Made in Africa, being scaled. Welcome Shoptreo, backed by Tekedia Capital, Africa’s most active investment powerhouse for startups. To learn more about Shoptreo, go here  and for Tekedia Capital here .

Sam Altman’s Effect: Tech Giant Microsoft Shares Hit Record High

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Tech giant, Microsoft, has seen its share price hit a record high after the company swiftly hired ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and ex-president Greg Brockman, to lead its new Advanced AI team.

This move by Microsoft was cheered by investors who pushed the company shares to a record high of 2.1%, to an all-time high close of $377.44 on Monday, surpassing the previous record of $376.17.

This is coming after shares of Microsoft fell 1.7% on Friday when Altman was sacked from his position as CEO of OpenAI. Altman and Greg’s appointments sent Microsoft’s valuation at £2.2 trillion.

Notably, Microsoft shares are up about 56% for the year. The stock is one of the “Magnificient Seven” that have powered the lion’s share of the market’s return this year, boosted by Wall Street’s bet that Artificial Intelligence is the next big thing in tech.

Wedbush Securities tech analyst Dan Ives, in a note published on Monday, commented on the drama that ensued between OpenAI and Altman over the weekend.

He wrote that  the OpenAI board was at the kid’s poker table and thought they won until Nadella and Microsoft took it all over in a World Series of Poker move for the ages with the Valley and Wall Street watching with white knuckles Sunday night/Monday early am.

“We view Microsoft now even in a STRONGER position from an Al perspective with Altman and Brockmam at Microsoft running Al,” he added.

Also commenting on the swift appointment of Altman by Microsoft, Aaron Levie, CEO of cloud sharing and management company Box, said via X, that it was an incredible execution by Satya in one of the most dynamic situations in tech history.

Aviral Bhatnagar, an investor at Venture Highway, had a similar view, which he described Microsoft CEO Nadella as one of the greatest CEOs.

He wrote in a post on X,

“You now understand why Satya Nadella is one of the greatest tech CEOs of this generation. Kept Altman in the fold, kept the transition as neat as possible, managed the chaos and the wild board decision making, didn’t destroy OpenAI”.

The recent upheavals that has so far rocked OpenAI have also been criticized by the company’s interim CEO, Emmett Shear.

He said the process and communications around which Sam’s removal, was handled very badly, which has seriously damaged the company’s trust.

Shear suggested he would launch an investigation to examine the process that led to the recent events and produce a report on them within his first 30 days at OpenAI.

He wrote,

“I have a three point plan for the next 30 days: 

– Hire an independent investigator to dig into the entire process leading up to this point and generate a full report.

– Continue to speak to as many of our employees, partners, investors, and customers as possible, take good notes, and share the key takeaways.

– Reform the management and leadership team in light of recent departures into an effective force to drive results for our customers.

“Depending on the results everything we learn from these, I will drive changes in the organization — up to and including pushing strongly for significant governance changes if necessary. I will be rolling these out as they become clear over the 30 day period. OpenAI’s stability and success are too important to allow turmoil to disrupt them like this. I will endeavor to address the key concerns as well, although in many cases I believe it may take longer than a month to achieve true progress”.

The current situation at OpenAI has been echoed by experts, who said that the situation could severely damage the company’s reputation and undermine public confidence.

During Altman’s tenure at OpenAI, his exceptional leadership style and capabilities helped push the company towards commercial endeavors.

The chaos around his exit, near reinstatement, and subsequent replacement will no doubt give investors pause after OpenAI had hoped to sell its shares at an $86bn valuation.

I Did My Best, Nigerians Are Extremely Difficult People – Buhari said in First Interview Since Leaving Office

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

In a reflective interview with the state-owned Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari delved into his presidency, challenges faced, and decisions made during his eight-year tenure.

This marks his first interview since stepping down from office roughly six months ago. The interview provided a rare glimpse into Buhari’s perspective on his presidency, the challenges faced, and the decisions made during his tenure, offering insight into his motivations and reflections post-leadership.

Buhari, while maintaining that he did his best during his two terms in office, expressed uncertainty about whether the expected results were achieved.

“God gave me the opportunity to serve my country, but I did my best. But whether my best was good enough, I leave for people to judge,” he stressed.

Speaking about the controversial naira redesign policy endorsed in the twilight of his administration, he asserted that it was to safeguard his integrity and demonstrate to Nigerians that success doesn’t come through shortcuts.

Addressing the complexities of governing Nigeria, Buhari characterized Nigerians as a challenging population, noting that while they often know the right actions, they frequently refuse to follow through, believing they know better than their leaders.

“Nigerians are extremely difficult. People know their rights. They think they should be there, not you. So, they monitor virtually your every step. And you have to struggle day and night to ensure that you are competent enough,“ he added.

When pressed about the integrity of individuals surrounding him during his tenure, the former president dismissed concerns, attributing it to being “their problem” and questioning the critics’ own actions in fighting corruption at their levels.

Responding to inquiries about a perceived cabal influencing his government, Buhari conceded the possibility but emphasized that he wasn’t aware of anyone breaking rules without consequences.

Regarding his leadership style, Buhari defended his approach, stating that he allowed individuals to carry out their assigned tasks, indicating that he wouldn’t change his methods if given another chance under Nigeria’s current system.

Throughout the interview, Buhari occasionally veered off-topic but reiterated his efforts to maintain accountability during his administration.

He disclosed being persistently ‘harassed’ by visitors to his residence daily, implying that he would have left Nigeria if not for the border closure with a neighboring country. However, he expressed contentment with the freedom to wake up at his leisure, emphasizing that he doesn’t miss anything after leaving office.

Reflecting on his tenure’s achievements, Buhari admitted uncertainty about meeting all his goals but highlighted progress in combatting Boko Haram in Borno state and the northeast, claiming significant degradation of the terrorist group during his tenure.

Regarding foreign matters, the former president acknowledged being primarily occupied with local issues, citing national security as his greatest challenge.

Buhari distanced himself from acquiring excessive wealth during his presidency, attributing his peaceful post-office life to this conscious decision. He claimed that attempts to lure him into compromising situations were avoided to prevent exploitation of the country and maintain his integrity.

In a poignant moment, Buhari reflected on past electoral losses, expressing gratitude for the introduction of technology in the 2015 elections, which aided his victory. He recalled the hardships faced due to lack of financial influence but emphasized his faith in divine intervention.

“Instead of people expressing sympathy, people laughed at me because I didn’t have money, because I couldn’t buy influence in any form, either from influential people or others. And I said ‘God dey’. And he sent the Permanent Voter Card (PVC). Meaning you now have only one vote,“ he stated.

Addressing the naira policy’s criticism, Buhari said Nigeria’s status as an underdeveloped nation and highlighted the need to tackle materialism and unethical wealth acquisition. He underscored that the policy aimed to emphasize the absence of shortcuts to effective leadership.

“Whether Nigerians believe it or not, we are an underdeveloped country. And in that sort of situation, there’s materialism and sometimes ruthlessly they didn’t care how they made the money.

“…I still feel that the only way I could deprive these people was just to make sure that my integrity became unquestionable…I think as a developing country we still have a long way to go.

“The motivation (for introducing the policy) was to try and make Nigerians believe that there is no shortcut to successful leadership,” he added.

On the Ethiopian/Nigerian Air debacle, Buhari admitted to providing individuals with a free hand to carry out their responsibilities, potentially acknowledging a shortcoming in his oversight.

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