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The leading artificial intelligence (AI) company, OpenAI, is embroiled in an internal crisis following the dismissal of its co-founder, Sam Altman, and the subsequent threat by hundreds of employees to leave the company in favor of joining Microsoft, where Altman has recently been hired. According to internal sources, more than 500 of OpenAI’s 770 employees have expressed support for a letter threatening mass resignations unless OpenAI’s board of directors steps down.
The discontent arose after Altman, co-founder of OpenAI and a key figure in the company’s rise, was removed from his position as CEO by the board of directors. This move triggered an outpouring of reactions from employees, who have expressed their intention to join Microsoft, the company that announced the hiring of Altman. In statements on a social media platform, Altman expressed his emotion and determination to continue pursuing his goals, stating: "We have more unity, commitment, and focus than ever. We’re all going to work together in one way or another, and I’m very excited. The mission continues." Meanwhile, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, confirmed Altman’s hiring and noted that he will lead a new advanced AI research team alongside other colleagues, reaffirming Microsoft’s commitment to talent from OpenAI. OpenAI’s interim CEO, Emmett Shear, former CEO of Twitch, denied that Altman’s removal was related to concerns about AI safety technology. Shear also acknowledged that the handling of the dismissal process was inadequate, admitting errors in internal communications.
The tension between OpenAI and Microsoft has left the future of the AI company in limbo. Meanwhile, Microsoft—which has invested heavily in OpenAI and integrated its technology into its products—is seeking to retain the talent and collaboration of the startup for its future developments. The dispute between the two companies highlights the complexities and rivalries within the AI world, where competition for talent and innovation dictates the industry’s trajectory. This episode, which shook the artificial intelligence ecosystem in November 2023, revealed a structural tension in OpenAI’s governance model. The company, initially conceived as a nonprofit with an independent board of directors, had gradually evolved into a hybrid structure that blended its founding mission with increasing commercial integration with Microsoft. The clash between the board—retaining the legal authority to remove the CEO without consulting investors—and the executive team—championing an accelerated growth strategy—exposed the limitations of this hybrid model when tensions between mission and commercialization reach a critical point.
Microsoft’s swift response—offering to hire both Altman and employees who chose to follow him—underscored the depth of technological and commercial interdependence between the two companies. Microsoft had invested billions in OpenAI and integrated its models into products such as Azure, Office 365, and Bing. The prospect of OpenAI’s core talent relocating en masse to its primary investor posed a scenario of functional absorption that would have entirely reconfigured the power map in the generative AI industry.
Finally, the crisis was resolved with the reinstatement of Altman as CEO and the partial renewal of the board of directors, although the episode left lasting repercussions. OpenAI’s governance structure was modified to grant greater weight to commercial investors, and the company accelerated its transition toward a more conventional technology business model, moving away from the founding ideal of independent governance. For industry observers, the conflict confirmed a trend that had already been emerging: the development of advanced artificial intelligence requires investment scales and governance structures that can hardly be sustained outside the dominant commercial logic.