OpenAI could lose basically all of its employees

OpenAI, one of the world’s leading AI companies, is going through a massive shake-up after a very dramatic weekend that just happened. If you want to know more about what’s going on at the company, be sure to read our timeline of the whole OpenAI situation. There’s a lot going on at OpenAI that threatened to put it in the ground, and one thing is a potential mass exodus from its employees.

The drama began when the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, was suddenly fired from his position. This led many workers loyal to Altman to contemplate leaving the company. And, by many, we mean the mass majority of the employee base. According to reports, there are about 700 employees currently working at OpenAI. At the time of writing this, more than 500 have agreed to leave the company if the non-profit board does not resign.

There could be a mass exodus happening at OpenAI

So, the situation going on an OpenAI is rather complicated and steadily developing. What we can say for sure is that the folks at OpenAI are in a bit of a pickle. At this point, we don’t know exactly why the board fired Altman in the first place. Regardless of the reason, the mass majority of the workforce is heavily upset with the decision.

Just hours after Altman was fired, several of the company’s AI scientists resigned. After that, more people expressed their anger at the situation. In fact, there was an open letter floating around the office requesting that the board members who fired Altman resign. This came before Sam Altman himself requested that the board resign. If the board refuses to step down, then OpenAI can say goodbye to nearly three-thirds of its employees at the very least.

Where will they go? Well, that’s another reason why the situation is complicated. Microsoft stated that it will open its doors to all 700 employees who jump ship from OpenAI. The company has already moved to hire Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. What’s another 700?

It seems ironic that Microsoft would hire Altman while the company that it’s heavily invested in seems to be a sinking ship. Sam Altman’s employment with Microsoft might not be officially finalized. He and Brockman are planning on returning to open AI if the remaining three board members were to retire. That deal is still going on. If they return to the company, then the many employees planning on leaving might stay where they are. Only time will tell at this point.

Again, this is an ongoing and developing story, so you have to stay tuned for more developments that come.