OpenAI executive is out after key role in CEO Sam Altman’s ouster

OpenAI’s chief scientist and cofounder, who played an instrumental role in CEO Sam Altman’s short-lived ouster from OpenAI in November, announced that he was leaving company on Tuesday.

OpenAI’s chief scientist and cofounder, who played an instrumental role in CEO Sam Altman’s short-lived ouster from OpenAI in November, announced that he was leaving company on Tuesday. “After almost a decade, I have made the decision to leave OpenAI,” Ilya Sutskever said in a social media post. “I am excited for what comes next — a project that is very personally meaningful to me about which I will share details in due time.” Sutskever played a central role in the dramatic firing – and return – of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last year, a management crisis that ultimately appeared to strengthen Altman’s position as a leader in the surging field of artificial intelligence. The announcement of Sutskever’s departure comes one day after OpenAI unveiled its latest artificial intelligence model, GPT-4o, in a presentation that impressed onlookers with its capabilities. Sutskever’s role at OpenAI will be filled by Jakub Pachocki, previously the company’s director of research, according to the company. Sutskever made headlines nearly six months ago when he voted to remove Altman as chief executive and chairman of the board. CNN contributor Kara Swisher previously reported that the decision to fire Altman was driven by Sutskever’s concerns that Altman had pushed AI technology “too far, too fast.”