Sam Altman has been fired before from OpenAI

The Washington Post reports that Sam Altman, who is causing a stir by being dismissed and returning as OpenAI's CEO, has been dismissed in the past.

Before OpenAI, Sam Altman was fired from Y Combinator by his mentor - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/11/22/sam-altman-fired-y-combinator-paul-graham/

Sam Altman retired as CEO of OpenAI on November 17, 2023. This resignation was effectively a dismissal by the board of directors, and there was strong opposition from within the company. The situation was extremely chaotic, with Microsoft announcing acceptance and 90% of OpenAI's employees signing a letter stating that they would join the new company unless Mr. Altman returned and all directors resigned. In the end, the board of directors was changed and Altman returned as OpenAI's CEO.

Sam Altman returns as CEO of OpenAI and changes board members - GIGAZINE

The Washington Post reports that this is not the first time Altman has been fired. Mr. Altman had been CEO of startup incubator Y Combinator since 2014, but resigned in 2019. According to people involved at the time, Mr. Altman often prioritized his personal circumstances over the organization, and his absences tended to make his colleagues and the startups he was in charge of uneasy. He also invested personally in startups he discovered through Y Combinator's incubation program, maximizing his personal profits.

The reason for the firing scandal at OpenAI has been reported to be ideological, such as the 'balance between AI growth and AI safety,' but The Washington Post cited testimony from a person familiar with the board of directors. 'Concerns that Mr. Altman was seeking to avoid any checks on his power led to the vote to remove him,' the report said.

After Altman was fired, members of OpenAI's board told Altman that they would resign and reinstate Altman as CEO on one condition: 'If he agrees to a group monitoring Altman's activities.' He reportedly conveyed his intention to do so. However, negotiations broke down because Mr. Altman wanted to compose the board of directors with members who would get his way.

OpenAI's management team asks CEO Sam Altman to return, but it may be ``too late'', rumors of new AI company creation - GIGAZINE

In addition, Jeffrey Irving, a former OpenAI employee who worked under Altman for two years, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Altman had a tendency to lie and manipulate people. It is being

Third, my prior is strongly against Sam after working for him for two years at OpenAI:

1. He was always nice to me.
2. He lied to me on various occasions
3. He was deceptive, manipulative, and worse to others, including my close friends (again, only nice to me, for reasons)

— Geoffrey Irving (@geoffreyirving) November 21, 2023

On the other hand, Mr. Altman has gained tremendous support from OpenAI employees, and ultimately decided to revamp OpenAI's board of directors and return as CEO. In a post to X after his return to OpenAI was announced, Altman said, 'Everything I've done over the last few days has been instrumental in uniting this team and its mission.'

i love openai, and everything i've done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. when i decided to join msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya's support, i'm…

— Sam Altman (@sama) November 22, 2023