A new book excerpt is shedding dramatic new light on the infamous Sam Altman firing saga that rocked OpenAI back in late 2023. In “The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future,” Wall Street Journal journalist Keach Hagey reveals behind-the-scenes tension between Altman and fellow execs like co-founder Ilya Sutskever and CTO Mira Murati. The board’s decision to oust Altman wasn’t just about power struggles—it came after concerns about Altman privately owning a Startup Fund tied to OpenAI and allegedly misguiding the legal process around GPT-4 Turbo. The excerpt even cites Slack screenshots used to accuse Altman of deceptive behavior. But in one of Silicon Valley’s fastest corporate reversals, Altman was reinstated days later following internal revolt—signed by over 700 employees, including the very people who helped push him out. Now, with Sutskever and Murati gone and building their own AI ventures, OpenAI’s future is as fascinating as its past.

Key Points:

• The book is titled The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future, written by WSJ reporter Keach Hagey.

• According to the excerpt, OpenAI board members were alarmed to discover that the OpenAI Startup Fund was personally owned by Altman, not the company itself.

• CTO Mira Murati and co-founder Ilya Sutskever collected evidence against Altman, allegedly including Slack messages, claiming he acted dishonestly and manipulatively.

• One specific claim: Altman told colleagues the legal team said GPT-4 Turbo didn’t need safety board review—an assertion denied by OpenAI’s own top lawyer.

• This led to Altman's sudden firing by the nonprofit board in November 2023, with Murati briefly becoming interim CEO.

• However, the decision quickly unraveled when more than 700 OpenAI employees—including Murati and Sutskever—signed a letter demanding Altman's return.

• Within days, Altman was reinstated, and his critics, Murati and Sutskever, later resigned and launched new AI startups.

• The book promises a deeper look into AI, corporate governance, and the growing tension between fast-moving innovation and ethical oversight.

Quote from the book: “The board was disturbed not only by the conflicts of interest, but by what it saw as Altman’s pattern of manipulative behavior.”

Final Thought: This latest chapter in the OpenAI story raises critical questions about leadership, transparency, and who gets to steer the future of artificial intelligence.

Podcast-ready and drama-filled—this one’s got it all.
Link to Article