OpenAI Will Add Microsoft as Board Observer, Plans Governance Changes

OpenAI said that Sam Altman was officially reinstated as chief executive officer and that it has a new initial board of directors, with Microsoft Corp. joining as a nonvoting observer. The announcement Wednesday, a blog post penned by Altman, comes two weeks after the CEO's shock firing from the artificial intelligence startup, followed by an operatic boardroom power struggle. OpenAI also said that Mira Murati -- who had been chief technology officer until Altman's ousting when she was briefly named interim CEO -- is once again the company's CTO. OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman will return as the company's president after he quit in protest over Altman's firing. Microsoft, the company's largest investor, had not previously had a position on the board before it took the observer role.