Altman's followers' expectations are dashed! Media reports have revealed that Altman will not return to OpenAI.

According to Zhitong App, The Information reported on Sunday that the "power struggle" within OpenAI is coming to an end. Ilya Sutskever, a board member and chief scientist of OpenAI, issued a statement to the company's employees stating that Sam Altman will no longer serve as the CEO of OpenAI, and Emmett Shear, former head of Twitch, will assume the role of interim CEO. Shear is a co-founder of Twitch and left the popular global video streaming platform under Amazon earlier this year.

Sutskever informed OpenAI employees that the board members insisted on their decision to dismiss Altman. Some of Altman's actions and interactions with the board have undermined the company's efforts in supervising the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

Despite pressure from various forces, Altman will ultimately not return to OpenAI.

Last Friday, the unexpected dismissal of Altman by the OpenAI board shocked the global tech industry. Since then, OpenAI investors and major customers of ChatGPT have tried to bring him back to the company to stabilize the situation. However, the news that Altman will not return to OpenAI may plunge this AI unicorn into chaos.

The sudden departure of Altman may result in a significant loss of talent for OpenAI, as most of the core employees have followed Altman for many years. Some current OpenAI employees are even concerned that this move will affect the upcoming $86 billion stock sale plan.

OpenAI has not immediately responded to media requests for comment. The report from The Information quoted Sutskever as saying that despite the efforts of company executives to bring Altman back to OpenAI, Altman will not return as CEO. However, the report did not provide any other details. Some media outlets have stated that they cannot immediately confirm the authenticity of the statement quoted by The Information.

Earlier on Sunday, Mira Murati, who briefly served as the interim CEO of OpenAI, told employees that she had invited Altman to return to OpenAI. Altman and former president of OpenAI, Greg Brockman, briefly met with company executives at the company's headquarters in San Francisco on Sunday, according to The Information. Shear's appointment also means that Murati will no longer serve as the interim CEO.

According to foreign media reports over the weekend, Altman is discussing his return to the startup AI unicorn behind ChatGPT and improving the company's governance structure. At the same time, he is also considering establishing a completely new startup in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). From the timeline, first on Friday local time, OpenAI's board of directors announced the dismissal of Altman. Altman is seen as the spokesperson for generative AI by many loyal individual users of ChatGPT, even enterprise-level clients of ChatGPT, and one of OpenAI's major shareholders, Microsoft. There are reports that Microsoft has pressured the OpenAI board to request Altman's return to OpenAI. Some ChatGPT clients have even written to OpenAI, requesting Altman's return as CEO. Altman's departure from OpenAI has undoubtedly caused shockwaves throughout the entire tech industry.

However, on the same day, Sunday local time, Altman posted a photo on social platform X wearing an OpenAI guest badge, with the caption: "This is my first and last time wearing this."

Will the core members of OpenAI who followed Altman leave and join Microsoft's competitors?

After Altman was dismissed by the board, some of the most senior technical staff at OpenAI who had previously followed Altman announced their resignations one after another. Current OpenAI employees are beginning to worry that the sudden management changes will have a negative impact on the upcoming $86 billion stock sale. It is reported that some core researchers at OpenAI, including Szymon Sidor, who fought alongside Altman for many years, have also chosen to leave the company due to the change in CEO personnel. It is currently unclear whether Sidor and other former OpenAI employees will choose to start a new company with Altman.

According to The Information, former president and co-founder of OpenAI, Greg Brockman, also arrived at the OpenAI office on Sunday for face-to-face discussions. As part of the management reshuffle, Brockman has resigned from the position of chairman and announced his departure from the company on Friday local time.

According to two sources familiar with the matter, if Altman returns to OpenAI, Microsoft, the company's biggest supporter, is considering taking a seat on the OpenAI board of directors. The sources also stated that Microsoft is either considering taking a seat on the OpenAI board or becoming a board observer without voting rights. Board observers are typically informal roles that allow them to attend board meetings and observe the proceedings, but they do not have voting or decision-making power as board members. Insiders also said that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been personally assisting Mira Murati in discussing Altman's return plan. However, insiders said that Nadella himself is unlikely to join the OpenAI board of directors. Insiders also revealed that Microsoft's deep integration with OpenAI is essentially based on Microsoft's trust in Altman. If Altman cannot return to OpenAI, Microsoft will consider investing in a new company established by Altman.

Dan Ives, an analyst from Wall Street investment firm Wedbush, wrote in a report, "Microsoft's biggest concern is that if Altman and the core members of OpenAI ultimately choose to join Google or Amazon, it will be a nightmare for Microsoft, which is deeply integrated with OpenAI."