How the OpenAI board's removal of Sam Altman unfolded
On 17 November 2023 OpenAI's nonprofit board removed Sam Altman as CEO, saying he had not been consistently candid with it. After Microsoft said it would hire him and most staff threatened to leave, he returned within days under a new board, and a law firm review later found his conduct did not mandate removal. OpenAI then rebuilt its structure, completing a recapitalization in October 2025 that kept the nonprofit in control of a public benefit corporation.
17 November 2023 to today · 23 dated events · 19 sources
Where it stands now · as of 1 November 2026
Altman remains CEO of OpenAI Group PBC, which the OpenAI Foundation controls under conditions set by the Delaware and California attorneys general. OpenAI said in June 2026 it had confidentially filed for an IPO but had not set a timing.
documents reviewed30,000+by WilmerHale, per OpenAI
Foundation's equity stake$130bnapproximate value at the October 2025 recapitalization, per OpenAI
Microsoft stake27%as-converted diluted basis, per Microsoft
Timeline of events
Overview · 17 Nov 2023 to 9 Sep 2026 · click a dot to jump
2023
17 Nov 2023
Turning point
Leadership
Board removes Sam Altman as CEO
OpenAI's board said Altman would leave as CEO and leave the board after a review it had carried out, and named chief technology officer Mira Murati interim CEO. It said Greg Brockman would step down as board chair but stay at the company. The board then consisted of Ilya Sutskever, Adam D'Angelo, Tasha McCauley and Helen Toner, the post said.
“he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board”OpenAI board announcement, OpenAI
Former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear announced he had become OpenAI's interim CEO, replacing Murati after three days, ABC News and AFP reported. Shear said the board had not removed Altman over a disagreement on safety.
“The board did not remove Sam over any specific disagreement on safety”Emmett Shear, interim CEO, as reported by AFP, AFP, via Khaleej Times
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote on X that Altman and Brockman, who had resigned from OpenAI, would join Microsoft to lead a new AI research team, ABC News and AFP reported.
“will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team”Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, on X, as reported by AFP, AFP, via Khaleej Times
Hundreds of OpenAI employees signed a letter calling on the board to resign and reinstate Altman, saying they might otherwise leave for Microsoft. ABC News put the number of signatories at nearly 600, while AFP cited reports of up to 500 of about 770 staff. Signatories included Murati and board member Sutskever, both outlets reported.
Sutskever, OpenAI's chief scientist and one of the directors who voted to remove Altman, posted on X that he regretted his part in the decision, ABC News reported.
“I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions.”Ilya Sutskever, on X, as reported by ABC News, ABC News, via ABC7 New York
OpenAI said it had reached an agreement for Altman to return as CEO and agreed in principle to partly reconstitute the board, with Bret Taylor and Larry Summers joining Adam D'Angelo, Reuters reported. Nadella welcomed the change.
“We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”Satya Nadella, on X, as reported by Reuters, Reuters, via CBC News
OpenAI announced that Altman had returned as CEO, Murati as CTO and Brockman as president. The new initial board was Bret Taylor as chair, Larry Summers and Adam D'Angelo, with a non-voting observer seat for Microsoft. Altman wrote that Sutskever would no longer serve on the board.
OpenAI said a committee of Taylor and Summers had selected the law firm WilmerHale to conduct the review, according to an update added to its 29 November post.
OpenAI published a summary of WilmerHale's review, which it said involved dozens of interviews and more than 30,000 documents. The summary said there was a breakdown in trust between the prior board and Altman, that the prior board acted within its broad discretion, and that the decision did not arise from product safety, security, the pace of development, finances or statements to investors. It said the board acted on an abridged timeframe without advance notice to key stakeholders. The full report was not published.
“his conduct did not mandate removal”OpenAI's summary of the WilmerHale review, OpenAI
Altman rejoins the board as three directors are added
OpenAI said Altman would rejoin its board and named Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Nicole Seligman and Fidji Simo as directors. It announced new governance guidelines, a stronger conflict of interest policy, a whistleblower hotline and new board committees.
Microsoft told OpenAI in a letter that it was giving up the non-voting observer seat it took in November 2023, Reuters reported. Reuters said the seat and Microsoft's investment of more than 10 billion dollars had drawn scrutiny from regulators in the EU, Britain and the US.
“we no longer believe our limited role as an observer is necessary”Microsoft letter to OpenAI, as reported by Reuters, Reuters, via ThePrint
OpenAI said it planned to turn its existing for-profit into a Delaware public benefit corporation with ordinary shares, with the nonprofit holding shares in it and hiring its own staff for charitable work.
After discussions with the offices of the California and Delaware attorneys general, OpenAI said its nonprofit would continue to control the for-profit, which would become a public benefit corporation, and that the capped-profit structure would be replaced.
OpenAI said the nonprofit, renamed the OpenAI Foundation, kept control of the business, now OpenAI Group PBC, and held equity valued at about 130 billion dollars. It said it made several changes after nearly a year of dialogue with the two attorneys general.
$130 billion approximate value of the OpenAI Foundation's equity, per OpenAIOpenAI
28 Oct 2025
Legal step
Delaware attorney general does not object
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings issued a statement of no objection to the recapitalization. Her conditions include that only the nonprofit can appoint and remove directors of the PBC, that safety and security decisions put the mission ahead of shareholder interests, and that the nonprofit keeps a safety committee able to halt model releases.
“This was a long and intensive negotiation”Kathy Jennings, Delaware attorney general, Delaware Department of Justice
California attorney general signs an agreement with OpenAI
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office would not go to court to oppose the plan after obtaining concessions on the use of charitable assets, safety and OpenAI staying in California, set out in a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI.
Microsoft said its stake in OpenAI Group PBC was valued at about 135 billion dollars, roughly 27 percent on an as-converted diluted basis, and that OpenAI had contracted to buy an additional 250 billion dollars of Azure services.
$135 billion approximate value of Microsoft's stake, per MicrosoftMicrosoft
2026
11 May 2026
Legal step
Sutskever testifies about the 2023 removal
Testifying in Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI in federal court in Oakland, Sutskever said he had spent about a year gathering evidence for the board that Altman showed a consistent pattern of lying, and had prepared a document that ran to 52 pages, Reuters reported. Reuters reported that after the removal the remaining directors met with Anthropic about a proposal for it to merge with OpenAI.
An advisory jury found that Musk waited too long to bring his claims, and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers adopted the verdict and dismissed them, the Associated Press reported.
OpenAI said it had confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement and had not decided on the timing of a listing, according to its announcement as reproduced by StorageNewsletter and reported by eWeek.
“We recently submitted a confidential S-1.”OpenAI announcement, OpenAI, via StorageNewsletter
Last updated 1 November 2026. Spotted an error? See corrections. Every event links to the record it comes from. Allegations are attributed to whoever made them.
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