Sam Altman returns to the OpenAI board. We still don’t know why he was fired.

Sam Altman on OpenAI’s board, nearly four months after the CEO was ousted and quickly reinstated by the company he founded. Although Altman returned as the AI ​​company’s top executive in November, an interim board oversaw his return and the subsequent investigation into his conduct.

That investigation has now been completed, according to the company, which has added three new members to its board of directors. Additions include: Instacart CEO and former Meta CEO Fiji Simo, former Sony CEO Nicole Seligman, and Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellman, former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, economist Larry Summers and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, who served on the interim three-seat board, will remain in their positions, with Taylor continuing as chairman.

The announcement caps a tumultuous few months for the artificial intelligence company, which has since the sudden ouster of Altman last fall.

On Friday, OpenAI also published a summary of findings from WilmerHale, a law firm the company’s board retained in December 2023 to conduct an independent investigation into the events that led to Altman’s firing. However, we’re no closer to knowing exactly why Altman, who rejoined the company as CEO within five days, was fired in the first place.

“WilmerHale [found] that the Board’s previous decision did not stem from concerns about the safety or security of the products, the pace of development, OpenAI’s finances, or its statements to investors, customers or business partners,” the summary said. “Instead, it was the result of a breakdown in relations and a loss of trust between the previous board and Mr. Altman.” WilmerHale also concluded that OpenAI’s previous board abruptly fired Altman without notifying “key stakeholders” and without giving the opportunity to Altman to address his concerns.

To reach this conclusion, the firm reviewed more than 30,000 documents and conducted dozens of interviews with OpenAI employees, including former board members, over the past several months.