Who is the CEO of OpenAI: A Brief History
Steering OpenAI on its mission to advance artificial general intelligence (AGI), three influential figures have been pivotal in shaping the organization’s trajectory and contributing significantly to the field of AI. However, within recent days, the company has seen multiple changes in OpenAI’s CEO, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the company’s stability and the implications of such substantial shifts in leadership.
Sam Altman (2019-2023)
Sam Altman, an entrepreneur, investor, and skilled programmer, co-founded and served as the former CEO of OpenAI, a non-profit research company dedicated to advancing and cultivating benevolent artificial general intelligence. Additionally, Altman is the co-founder of Worldline Academy, a non-profit organization focused on educating students about artificial intelligence.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1985, Altman pursued computer science at Stanford University, where he immersed himself in the Y Combinator startup accelerator. Following his Stanford graduation, Altman honed his skills as a software engineer at Google. In 2010, he took on the role of co-founder at Hydroma, a startup specializing in innovative solar cell technology. Altman’s journey continued in 2012 when he co-founded Rap Genius, a platform offering annotations and insights into hip-hop lyrics.
The pivotal year of 2015 witnessed Altman collaborating with visionaries like Elon Musk and Reid Hoffman to co-found OpenAI. Altman held the reins as the CEO until a sudden removal by the board of directors in November 2023, leaving the specific reasons undisclosed to the public.
Mira Murati (2023-2023)
Mira Murati is an American computer scientist who is the interim CEO of OpenAI. She joined OpenAI in 2015 and has held various roles, including Chief Technology Officer. Murati is a computer scientist with expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Murati was born in the United States. She studied computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she received her PhD in 2012. After graduating from MIT, Murati worked as a research scientist at Google DeepMind, where she worked on reinforcement learning and machine learning for robotics.
In 2015, Murati joined OpenAI as a research scientist. She was promoted to Chief Technology Officer in 2019. Because of her credibility and hard-working nature, Mira Murati was appointed interim CEO of OpenAI after the sudden removal of Atman. She began her position on November 17th, 2023, and was replaced on November 20th, 2023 serving for a total of 3 days as CEO.
Emmett Shear (2023-Present)
Emmett Shear stands as a luminary in the technology realm, renowned for his influential role in shaping the landscape of online video streaming. Distinguished as the former CEO of Twitch, a trailblazing live streaming platform that redefined how individuals interact with and consume video content, Shear’s leadership has been instrumental in propelling Twitch from a nascent startup to a worldwide phenomenon. Under his strategic guidance, the platform witnessed an extraordinary surge, attracting millions of daily active users and cementing its status as an integral pillar within the vibrant worlds of esports and gaming communities.
Shear’s contributions to the tech industry extend beyond his work at Twitch. He has served as a part-time partner at Y Combinator, a prestigious startup accelerator, and has been involved in various philanthropic endeavors, including supporting education and technology initiatives. Recently, Shear was appointed interim CEO of OpenAI and stated his dedication to improving the company and implementing necessary changes for the better.
