In November 2023, OpenAI's board fired CEO Sam Altman without warning, triggering a 96-hour crisis that threatened to tear apart the world's most important AI company.
## The Firing
The board's statement was cryptic: Altman had not been "consistently candid." No specifics. The four board members who voted to remove him gave no detailed public explanation.
## The Comeback
What followed was a masterclass in institutional loyalty. Greg Brockman quit within hours. Then 700 of OpenAI's 770 employees threatened to leave for Microsoft unless the board resigned and Altman was reinstated.
Five days later, Altman was back. The original board members were gone.
## What It Means for AI
The saga crystallized something important: in AI, talent concentration creates extraordinary leverage. The people who build the models are the moat.
Altman emerged more powerful than before, with restructured governance. OpenAI subsequently raised $6.6 billion at a $157 billion valuation in late 2024.
## The Firing
The board's statement was cryptic: Altman had not been "consistently candid." No specifics. The four board members who voted to remove him gave no detailed public explanation.
## The Comeback
What followed was a masterclass in institutional loyalty. Greg Brockman quit within hours. Then 700 of OpenAI's 770 employees threatened to leave for Microsoft unless the board resigned and Altman was reinstated.
Five days later, Altman was back. The original board members were gone.
## What It Means for AI
The saga crystallized something important: in AI, talent concentration creates extraordinary leverage. The people who build the models are the moat.
Altman emerged more powerful than before, with restructured governance. OpenAI subsequently raised $6.6 billion at a $157 billion valuation in late 2024.