Altman’s departure was apparently startling news for outsiders as well as employees. “Altman was still sending regular emails to employees as of late Friday morning, according to a person familiar with the matter,” reports Bloomberg. Even Altman never hinted at signs of trouble, and in the past few weeks, met with world leaders such as the UK’s premier Rishi Sunak to discuss the responsible way forward with a disruptive tech like generative AI.
As of October, OpenAI was reportedly in talks to sell shares that would value the company at a staggering $86 billion. As for Altman, a Y-Combinator alum and often seen as the poster boy for AI development in the industry, he has yet to issue a statement regarding his OpenAI exit and what lies ahead for him. But this won’t be the only messy saga in OpenAI’s history.
Originally founded with the backing of Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla owner left the company soon after. Rumors say Musk’s proposal to buy the company was rebuffed, while he argues that he didn’t like the company’s move away from its non-profit lane. Beyond OpenAI, Altman is also an investor in some other buzzy companies.
Among them is Humane, co-founded by former Apple executives, which released its first AI-infused wearable product earlier this month. He is also an investor in a few other formidable names such as Neuralink (which is developing human brain interface chip implants), Reddit, Patreon, Asana, CodeAcademy, and InstaCart, among others.