At a press conference on Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied that there were any plans for him to get a “big budget” from the company, calling that information “not true,” according to a person present.
Altman and chief financial officer Sarah Friar both said in the meeting, which was conducted by video, that investors had expressed concern that Altman did not have equity in the expensive intelligence firm he founded about nine years ago, said the person, who asked. can’t be named because the gathering was for workers only.
Regarding his acquisition of the equity stake, Altman said, “There are no current plans here,” the person said.
OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor told CNBC in a statement that while the board is discussing the matter, no specific figures are on the table.
“The board had discussions about whether it would be beneficial to the company and our work for Sam to be compensated equally, but no specific figures were discussed and no decisions were made,” Taylor said.
Thursday’s meeting follows the board’s decision to consider restructuring the company to become a profitable business, according to a separate person with knowledge of the matter. If there is a change, the nonprofit will remain a separate entity, said the person, who asked not to be identified because no plans have been finalized.
While directors look to the future of OpenAI, senior executives continue to walk out the door.
On Wednesday, three managers announced their departures. OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, who served briefly as interim CEO, said she will be leaving after six and a half years. Later in the day, chief research officer Bob McGrew and Barrett Zoph, vice president of research, said they were leaving the company.
In an interview Thursday at Italian Tech Week, Altman said, “I think this will be a positive change for everyone involved and I hope that OpenAI will be stronger for it, as we are in all our changes.”
Altman said the move has nothing to do with restructuring the company, contrary to other media reports.
“Most of the things I saw were also completely wrong,” Altman said at the event in Turin, Italy. “But we’ve been thinking about that, our board has had it, almost a year on its own, as we think about what it takes to get to our next stage. But I think this is about people who are ready for new chapters in their lives and a new generation of leadership.”
Murati wrote in a company memo that “he is leaving because I want to create time and space to explore myself.” He said he would focus on ensuring a “smooth transition.”
Before Thursday’s moves, OpenAI founder Ilya Sutskever and former security chief Jan Leike announced their departures in May. Founder John Schulman last month said he was leaving to join rival Anthropic.
OpenAI, supported by Microsoftis currently pursuing a financing round that could value the company at more than $150 billion, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. Thrive Capital is leading the round and plans to invest $1 billion, while Tiger Global plans to join as well.
While OpenAI has been in high-growth mode since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, at the same time fraught with controversy and management departures, some current and former employees worry that the company is growing too fast to operate safely.
Altman was fired in November, before being promptly reinstated. Almost all OpenAI employees have signed an open letter saying they will walk in response to the board’s action. Days later, Altman was back at the company and Murati moved from interim CEO back to the role of CTO.
WATCH: Hosted by Altman
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