OpenAI CEO denies exec departures linked to restructuring

Sam Altman denied on Thursday that there was any link between the departure of three senior OpenAI executives and a planned restructuring of the company which he said the board had been considering for several months.

The world-leading AI firm's longtime chief technology officer Mira Murati abruptly announced her departure on Wednesday. Within hours, two senior research executives Barret Zoph and Bob McGrew revealed they were also leaving the company.

On the same day, Reuters reported OpenAI was working on a plan to restructure its core business into a for-profit benefit corporation that will no longer be controlled by its non-profit board, in a move aimed at making the company more attractive to investors.

Speaking on stage at the Italian Tech Week conference in Turin, OpenAI CEO Altman said that "some stuff" reported around the executives' departures was inaccurate, adding that the personnel changes were unrelated to the restructuring.

"That's totally not true," he told event organiser John Elkann, the chairman of car companies Ferrari RACE.MI and Stellantis STLAM.MI.

"A lot of the stuff I saw was also just totally wrong, but we have been thinking about that (restructuring), our board has, for almost a year, independently, as we think about what it takes to get to our next stage."

Altman praised the departing executives, adding he was excited to simplify the company's structure and work more closely with technical staff.

"I have not been as involved in the tech recently as other things, because there's been so much going on, I'm excited to do that," he said.

"This will be, hopefully, a great transition for everyone involved, and OpenAI will be stronger for it, as we are for all our transitions."

Details of the proposed restructure highlight significant changes behind the scenes at one of the world's top AI companies.

Sources told Reuters the plans were still being negotiated between lawyers and shareholders at the time of writing, with the timeline for completion still uncertain.