After all the commotion we’ve experienced over the last five days, in this magazine, we thought it’s a good idea to summarize the chaos at OpenAI with a timeline of news and articles that cover and explain every step of the saga.
It all began on Friday, November 17; in Spain, it was already the 18th. That’s the day our story begins. At that moment, OpenAI’s board announced to Sam Altman that he was out of the company, stepping down from the CEO position.
It was time to be baffled. Nobody understood anything. That’s why we published a longer article on Sunday explaining the possible motivations that led the board to oust Sam.
This article used sources from The New York Times and The Verge to try to uncover the truth behind the dismissal. The next day, we discovered that Microsoft had a master plan in place.
In response to this move, with Satya Nadella hiring the former CEO and president of OpenAI, the workers from his former company rebelled. They didn’t want Altman to leave; they disagreed with the board’s decision.
This led to a tense situation. More than 500 employees signed the threat… and there are 700 employees in total at OpenAI. The pressure was suffocating.
Among the signatories were individuals with significant power in the company, including members of the board that had fired Sam Altman hours earlier. Regret was immediate.
At that moment, speculation began that Sam might be mobilizing every possible resource to make a masterful move that could reinstate him in the company’s leadership.
As you know, this has ended in the most epic way possible. Hollywood will tell this story in a movie, not in many years, because the story has it all. Including the happy ending.
Sam Altman announced this morning, alongside OpenAI, that his return as CEO was a reality reflected in a historic agreement. And the best part? Microsoft emerges as the shadowy winner of this entire struggle, securing a place on the board.
And up to here, for now, the chronology of events that excited Steven Spielberg. If there’s anything else, don’t worry, we’ll bring it to the magazine.
Oh, by the way, before we go: the interim CEO appointed by OpenAI this Sunday, formerly from Twitch, has been responsible for this surprising turn of events.
