In the wake of Sam Altman’s ousting from his position as CEO of OpenAI by the company’s board, more than 700 of its employees have threatened to quit in support of Altman.
Capitalizing on the opportunity to acquire new talent, Salesforce’s CEO Marc Benioff announced on Monday that he will match the existing salaries of any OpenAI researcher who resigns over Altman’s firing.
These researchers would then join the Salesforce AI research team, bringing their expertise to the CRM giant’s Einstein AI Platform - which burst onto the CX scene at Dreamforce.
Benioff made the offer via X, formerly Twitter:
Salesforce will match any OpenAI researcher who has tendered their resignation full cash & equity OTE to immediately join our Salesforce Einstein Trusted AI research team under Silvio Savarese. Send me your cv directly to [email protected]. Einstein is the most successful… pic.twitter.com/1RXoc9ekeo
— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) November 20, 2023
The Story So Far
OpenAI has grabbed a lot of headlines in recent times, not only for its cutting-edge AI technology but for its internal goings-on as well.
In 2021, for example, OpenAI employees left to start up the rival AI research company, Anthropic, which now has its own version of ChatGPT in the form of ‘Claude’ that Zoom embedded into its CCaaS platform in May this year.
Since, it has come to light that OpenAI’s board of directors approached Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, to propose a merger.
Now, an apparent impasse between Altman and the board has created division in the company at a time when the stakes couldn’t be higher as competitors line up with ChatGPT alternatives.
OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer, Brad Lightcap, explained the decision to remove Altman in a message to employees on Saturday: "We can say definitively that the board’s decision was not made in response to malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices.
This was a breakdown in communication between Sam and the board. Our position as a company remains extremely strong, and Microsoft remains fully committed to our partnership.
Whatever the "breakdown in communication" was about, it has led to a major backlash from both employees and investors.
Anonymous informants have revealed that investors Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Tiger Global Management would like OpenAI to rehire Altman and former OpenAI President Greg Brockman. They also shared that Altman is keen to return to his post at OpenAI.
