The token associated with Sam Altman’s eye-scanning cryptocurrency project surged on Wednesday after he was reinstated as the CEO of artificial intelligence giant OpenAI.
Sam Altman Restored As OpenAI CEO
Sam Altman is returning to OpenAI nearly a week after he was ousted from the company’s board, prompting a job offer from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
The ChatGPT developer announced that it had reached an “agreement in principle” for Altman to return as the chief executive officer. According to OpenAI, the firm and Altman “are collaborating to figure out the details.”
In a statement on the X platform following the news of his rehiring, Altman expressed his “love” for OpenAI, noting that “everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together.” He added:
“I’m looking forward to returning to OpenAI.”
OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman, who quit after Altman was forced to depart from the company, will also return.
Crucially, Altman’s reinstatement also entails OpenAI appointing a new board consisting of chair Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo.
Following the news of Altman’s return, Microsoft’s Nadella posited that, “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”
OpenAI’s Rocky Week
Sam Altman was dismissed last week because he “was not consistently candid in his communications” with OpenAI’s board. This led to a loss of confidence in his leadership by the board. Brockman resigned from the firm in solidarity with Altman, with Microsoft tapping the duo to lead a new advanced artificial intelligence research team.
Altman’s unceremonious firing prompted hundreds of OpenAI employees to threaten a walkout to join Altman in his new venture unless the board resigned.
Worldcoin (WLD) — which was launched just six months ago — slumped to as low as $1.87 on November 17 after Altman was abruptly pushed out by OpenAI. WLD has notched an 8.1% rise to trade for $2.54 per coin today and has a market capitalization of $294 million following news of his return.
