Techmeme
November 20, 2023, 1:00 AM

Top News

The Information:
Ilya Sutskever told staff that Sam Altman will not return as CEO; Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear to be interim CEO  —  Sam Altman won't return as CEO of OpenAI, despite efforts by the company's executives to bring him back, according to co-founder and board director Ilya Sutskever.
Bloomberg:
Source: OpenAI board members seek to hire their own CEO to succeed Sam Altman; sources: Mira Murati plans to rehire Altman and Greg Brockman in some capacity  —  - Murati remains in place as interim CEO after Altman firing  — Board members are simultaneously seeking a different CEO
Bloomberg:
Sources: talks to reinstate Altman, led by Satya Nadella, hit a snag over the board's role; source: board members are yet to resign as they vet replacements  —  - OpenAI's leaders want board removed, but directors resisting  — Board given 5 p.m. deadline to give in to Altman's demands
Karen Hao / The Atlantic:
Sources describe how ChatGPT's success widened ideological rifts at OpenAI, and Ilya Sutskever began behaving like a spiritual leader expecting AGI's arrival  —  To truly understand the events of the past 48 hours—the shocking, sudden ousting of OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman …
Bloomberg:
Sources: before his ouster, Sam Altman was trying to raise money in the Middle East for a venture, codenamed Tigris, to produce TPUs and compete with Nvidia  —  - Altman was fundraising in the Middle East for new chip venture  — The project, code-named Tigris, is intended to rival Nvidia
Erin Woo / The Information:
Sources: in a memo, OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon told employees that the company is “optimistic” it can bring back Sam Altman and Greg Brockman  —  OpenAI is “optimistic” it can bring back Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and other key employees who departed in the wake …
Bloomberg:
Source: a number of announcements at DevDay infuriated OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, like custom GPTs that OpenAI has said may one day run autonomously  —  The company couldn't balance nonprofit goals with an expensive business and billions in commercial ties
Aaron Holmes / The Information:
Sources: Microsoft's mulling taking a role on OpenAI's board if Sam Altman returns; source: if he doesn't, Microsoft would consider investing in his new venture  —  Microsoft, OpenAI's biggest backer, is considering taking a role on the board if ousted CEO Sam Altman's returns to the ChatGPT developer …
Forbes:
James Ball / Techtris:
Bloomberg:
TechCrunch:
Cruise co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt resigns, a month after California's DMV suspended Cruise's permits to operate self-driving cars on public roads  —  Kyle Vogt, the serial entrepreneur who co-founded and led Cruise from a startup in a garage through its acquisition and ownership by General Motors …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
A look at Apple's quest to build key device components in-house, including a cellular modem and other wireless chips, displays, batteries, and camera sensors  —  This week, we go inside Apple's quest to replace every major part of the iPhone with an in-house design.
Forbes:
Sources: leading ad execs told Linda Yaccarino that she is risking her reputation and suggested she step down as X CEO to make a statement about antisemitism  —  In the aftermath of IBM, Disney, Apple and others pausing spending on X, formerly known as Twitter, top advertising executives made a personal appeal to CEO Linda Yaccarino.

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