Microsoft recently appointed Emmett Shear as the new CEO of OpenAI. Shear, who previously worked at Microsoft as a senior director of product management, has expressed his harsh opinions on his time at the company in a post on X. In the post, he compared his experience to “selling my soul” and criticized the way Sam Altman, his former colleague and ex-CEO of OpenAI, was let go of his position.
Shear’s negative experience with Microsoft has been well documented. When he became CEO, he referenced that Altman’s termination was “handled very badly” and had “seriously damaged our trust.” His social media posts suggest that he wants to slow down AI development, which is likely to strain the relationship between OpenAI and Microsoft. The sudden turn of events has left both companies stunned.
In a recent post on X, it was revealed that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman will now head up a new AI team at Microsoft. This announcement effectively ends any speculation about Altman returning to OpenAI or continuing not to be a part of the company. Despite this news, neither company has issued a formal response regarding Shear’s reappointment as CEO of OpenAI.