Sam Altman removed as OpenAI CEO but then Satya Nadella saved him, fresh texts with Mira Murati reveal drama

Text messages shared between Mira Murati and Sam Altman have made a sudden appearance in the OpenAI versus Elon Musk trial spilling the beans about the time of turmoil when Altman was fired from OpenAI. Here are the details.

In Short

• Murati told Altman board discussions were going badly and shutting him out
• Emmett Shear emerged as interim choice even after Murati briefly led
• Murati said board members did not care if employees resigned

Sam Altman is the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI. But did you know, he was once fired from his own company – OpenAI – on grounds he was “not consistently candid in his communications” by the OpenAI board? It happened. In 2023. Altman was gone but only for a week. His ouster and comeback have long been shrouded in mystery but newly revealed text messages between Altman and former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati have now pulled back the curtain, leaving little to imagination about what happened and how it happened.

Before we get into the details, a little context. Elon Musk has sued OpenAI for turning into a for-profit after starting off with the intent and focus of being – and remaining – a non-profit. Musk was one of 11 co-founders of OpenAI playing a key role in the origin of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. The case has now reached the trial stage and people involved – right from Musk himself to OpenAI president Greg Brockman – have taken the stand to testify. Mira Murati is also one of them. She was once OpenAI CTO and now the CEO of another AI company called Thinking Machines Lab.

More notably, she briefly served as interim CEO of OpenAI after Altman’s ouster. Text messages shared between Murati and Altman have made an appearance in the trial spilling the beans about OpenAI’s time of turmoil.

Why OpenAI removed Sam Altman as CEO

On November 17, 2023, OpenAI’s board suddenly announced in a blog post that Altman was being removed as chief executive because he had allegedly not been “consistently candid” with directors.

“Mr Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” the company said in its 2023 blog post.

The board appointed Mira Murati as interim CEO, throwing the company into confusion almost instantly. Altman was desperately trying to understand whether there was still a path back to the company. In one text message sent early on November 20, he asked Mira: “can you indicate directionally good or bad? satya and others anxious.” Murati’s reply was blunt: “Directionally very bad. Sam this is very bad.”

Mira Murati said Altman created chaos

The exchanges also reveal a company split between loyalty to Altman and fears about his leadership style. During testimony, Murati said her concerns were largely management related. She described Altman as someone who would sometimes tell different things to different people and said his style often created “chaos” within the company. Yet even Murati later came to support Altman’s return, arguing that OpenAI itself risked collapsing if the situation continued.

The drama escalated quickly when Altman learned that the board did not even want him participating in discussions about his own future. In another exchange, Altman asked Murati what he could do to fix things, even suggesting he would walk away entirely if it helped OpenAI survive. Murati told him the board had become convinced he could no longer remain CEO.

OpenAI was thinking to make Twitch streamer the new CEO

At the same time, the board was already preparing a replacement. When Altman asked who they were planning to appoint, Murati responded with a now-famous line: “New guy is rando twitch guy,” referring to former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear.

Satya Nadella came at the rescue

As OpenAI spiralled, Microsoft emerged as the company’s lifeline and the messiah for Altman. Nadella, whose company had invested billions into OpenAI, became deeply involved in trying to stabilise the crisis. The texts show Murati repeatedly updating Altman about Nadella’s efforts. At one point she wrote, “Satya is being diplomatic,” while also saying she was “pulling Satya now” to help manage the situation.

Nadella’s biggest move came when OpenAI’s board appeared unwilling to reverse course. However, Microsoft publicly announced that Altman and former OpenAI president Greg Brockman would join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. The offer immediately changed the balance of power.

“We’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success,” Nadella wrote on X on November 20, 2023.

Hundreds of OpenAI employees then threatened to quit and follow Altman to Microsoft, putting enormous pressure on the board.

That pressure eventually forced OpenAI’s directors into negotiations. But by the end of the week, Altman was back as OpenAI CEO, Murati had returned to her CTO role, and most of the board members responsible for his firing were gone.

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