News Summary

An excerpt from the upcoming book “The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future” by Wall Street Journal reporter Keach Hagey reveals details about the brief firing of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2023. The book claims that OpenAI’s board dismissed Altman due to concerns over a Startup Fund owned by Altman and other behavioral issues. Co-founder Ilya Sutskever and CTO Mira Murati gathered evidence allegedly showing Altman’s toxic behavior, which led to the board appointing Murati as interim CEO. However, this decision backfired as employees, including Sutskever and Murati, demanded Altman’s return, leading to his reinstatement. Both Sutskever and Murati later left OpenAI to start their own ventures.