OpenAI – corporate drama unleashed
OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT, was in uproar as its boss was booted out, briefly snapped up by Microsoft and then brought back again.

The decision by the board of OpenAI to fire CEO Sam Altman “triggered a Silicon Valley corporate drama”, says Dan Milmo in The Guardian. He is the CEO of the company behind the ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot and “the figurehead of a revolution in AI that has enthralled the public and investors but also alarmed industry insiders and experts”.
With OpenAI’s staff in “uproar” and threatening to quit, investors, led by Microsoft, attempted to reinstate Altman, only for Microsoft to decide a few days later to hire him to lead a new AI division.
There then followed a “dramatic reversal”, says the Financial Times. Just two days later, it was announced that Altman would return as CEO of the firm that he co-founded. He will be under the supervision of a new board of directors, including former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and former Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor. This draws a line under a stand-off that has seen almost all of the company’s workers line up against the original four-person board.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
OpenAI's unusual corporate governance structure
Rumours and speculation relating to the sacking abound, says James Titcomb in The Telegraph. However, the key reason is that while the main part of the start-up, originally a non-profit, was moved to a profit-making subsidiary that could give employees shares and raise money, the original board still has ultimate control. This created an inevitable conflict between the board, which has “become increasingly focused on the risks arising from a commercial influence over AI” and Altman, who concentrated on “growing the technology at pace”.
This governance structure also helps explain why “a group of just four people could make decisions that have rocked a multi-billion dollar technology business”, says the BBC. OpenAI is widely deemed the most important AI firm in the world. The ructions could prove damaging to its reputation.
“OpenAI can’t be the same company it was, Nick Patience of S&P Global Market Intelligence told the BBC. “That has implications not only for potential investors but also for recruitment”.
The drama erupted at a key moment for the company. At the beginning of November, ChatGPT hit a milestone of 100 million weekly users and the company had been working on plans to sell shares at an $86bn valuation, as Lex pointed out in the FT. But with or without Altman, the company’s valuation looks a stretch, says Anita Ramaswamy on Breakingviews. It’s not just the governance structure, but the fact that its AI still needs work.
Recent research suggests that the quality of the GPT-4 model has deteriorated. Its accuracy rate in identifying prime numbers slumped from 84% in March to 51% in June. And government regulation could eventually “dramatically change the usage” of AI, adds Breakingviews. Nor are rivals standing still, says Simon Hunt in The Spectator. Amazon and Google have both invested in a rival AI firm, Anthropic, while Google and X (formerly Twitter) have come up with chatbots known respectively as Bard and Grok.
This article was first published in MoneyWeek's magazine. Enjoy exclusive early access to news, opinion and analysis from our team of financial experts with a MoneyWeek subscription.
Related articles
- How to invest in ChatGPT and other AI tech changing the world
- 3 ways to play the artificial intelligence boom
- The jury's out on the AI summit at Bletchley Park
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.
He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.
Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.
As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.
Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri
-
HMRC confirms crypto ETN ISA rules
With crypto ETNs now technically available for UK retail investors, HMRC has confirmed they can be held in an ISA – but there’s a complication
-
Pensioners targeted in fine wine scams – the tactics to watch for
Wine has emerged as the latest lure in investment fraud, with pensioners being specifically targeted by scammers
-
Pierre-Édouard Stérin wants to make France great again
Conservative billionaire Pierre-Édouard Stérin is seeking to lead a political and spiritual renaissance across the Channel. The planning looks meticulous
-
Global investors have overlooked the top innovators in emerging markets
Opinion Carlos Hardenberg, portfolio manager, Mobius Investment Trust, highlights three emerging market stocks where he’d put his money
-
Pinewood Technologies: a drive for growth
Pinewood Technologies’ platform is one of the best in the business. Investors should buy in
-
'EV maker Faraday Future will crash'
Faraday Future Intelligent Electric is failing dismally to live up to its name, says Matthew Partridge
-
Investors should cheer the coming nuclear summer
The US and UK have agreed a groundbreaking deal on nuclear power, and the sector is seeing a surge in interest from around the world. Here's how you can profit
-
8 of the best houses for sale with follies
The best houses for sale with follies in the grounds – from a five-storey Victorian Gothic tower in Tonbridge, Kent, to a former mill in Oxfordshire with gardens that include a folly on an island in a lake
-
A tale of two Reits – why performance matters for valuation
AEW UK and Regional are two Reits that are valued very differently, despite a shared focus on properties outside London
-
Healthcare stocks look cheap, but tread carefully
Shares in healthcare companies could get a shot in the arm if uncertainty over policy in the US wanes, but are they worth the risk?