According to Bloomberg, Mira Murati, former Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI, stated on Thursday that OpenAI would likely have disintegrated if Sam Altman had not returned as CEO after his brief ouster in 2023. Her remarks provide the clearest explanation to date of the highly dramatic boardroom power struggle in Silicon Valley. After Altman's ouster, Murati briefly served as interim CEO and took swift action by joining forces with other executives to issue an ultimatum to the board, demanding an explanation for the dismissal or else all executives would resign. Just five days after Altman's dismissal, he was reinstated with the support of a reconstituted board. Murati believes her actions prevented the company from falling apart.
