San Francisco, CA – OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever has announced his departure from the Microsoft-backed startup, citing personal reasons for his decision. The news comes after months of leadership turmoil within the organization, involving co-founder and CEO Sam Altman.
In response to the board’s action, almost all of OpenAI’s employees signed an open letter indicating their intentions to leave. Altman was reinstated shortly after, while board members who had voted for his ouster, including Sutskever, were replaced. The reshuffling also saw research director Jakub Pachocki stepping in as the new chief scientist.
As part of the organization’s restructuring, OpenAI welcomed new board members, among them former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Microsoft secured a nonvoting board observer position as well.
Following Sutskever’s departure announcement, Altman expressed his sadness, praising Sutskever as a brilliant mind and a guiding light in the field. Altman revealed that Pachocki would be stepping into the role of chief scientist.
Amidst the leadership changes, OpenAI launched a new AI model and desktop version of ChatGPT, expanding the capabilities of its popular chatbot. With the introduction of the GPT-4 model, the organization is focusing on enhancing user experience, with plans to enable video chat features in the future.
In 2015, Elon Musk and Altman had endeavored to bring Sutskever on board as the organization’s top scientist. Despite initial hesitations, Sutskever ultimately joined OpenAI following a persuasive call from Musk on the day of the startup’s public announcement, according to legal filings.
The departure of Sutskever marks a significant milestone for OpenAI as it continues to navigate through internal changes and technological advancements in the AI space.