Microsoft Might Not Get A Seat At OpenAI’s Board After All،
Even though Sam Altman has returned to his position as CEO of OpenAI, the company continues to make headlines every other day. After ChatGPT’s sudden ousting, the company hired two interim CEOs, only to realize they couldn’t float the boat without Altman, and hired him back, thereby restructuring the board. At the time, some reports also mentioned that, among other investors, Microsoft wanted to sit on the new board, which initially had three people. However, OpenAI, led by Altman, seems to have a different opinion.
Why wouldn’t OpenAI offer Microsoft a seat?
According to a Reuters report, OpenAI “is not expected to offer” Microsoft and other investors, including Thrive Capitals and Khosla Ventures, seats on its board. It is important to mention that Microsoft and other major investors were “blindsided” by the OpenAI board’s decision to fire Altman, implying that they were not involved in the decision-making process that led to Altman’s ouster. It therefore made sense for them to sit on the board of directors, which would include them in the company’s core processes.
This may not be in Microsoft’s best interest
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told CNBC that OpenAI needs to change its board of directors regardless of how Altman ends. However, not serving on the board of the leading AI startup, in which it is the largest investor, would not be in Microsoft’s best interest. Reuters also mentions that the company is waiting for an official response from OpenAI’s new board on how it wants to run the company and to whom it wants to offer the remaining seats.
On the other hand, OpenAI’s reasoning could be to protect its mission, which is “to make artificial general intelligence benefit all of humanity”, achievable with certain security measures. However, investors in any business often look to the profitable aspects, which can put safety on the back burner. But it’s not as simple as it seems, as reports also suggest that Sam Altman was fired because he wasn’t aware enough of a new project called Q* (Q-Star), which which led to speculation that he posed a threat to humanity. .
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