- Greg Brockman, the co-founder and president of OpenAI, has returned to the company after a 3-month leave of absence.
- OpenAI has faced a wave of high-profile members’ departures in recent months, including the exits of the CTO, head of research
- Brockman will be working closely with CEO Sam Altman to take on a new role.
- OpenAI recently achieved a $157 billion valuation, suggesting investors remain confident in the company’s long-term prospects.
Brockman, a close ally of CEO Sam Altman, announced in August that he would be taking a sabbatical until the end of the year to relax for the first time since co-founding the company in 2015.
Brockman announced in a post on the social media platform X on Tuesday. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed Brockman’s return to the company.
Brockman’s return comes at a critical time for the company as it recently achieved a $157 billion valuation following a major new funding round.
OpenAI’s team members leaving the company
The company has also faced significant leadership changes in recent months. Its high-profile members’ departures have raised questions about the stability of OpenAI’s management team.
In September, OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati announced she would be leaving the company after six and a half years. That same day, Bob McGrew, the head of research, and research VP Barret Zoph also announced their exits.
Ilya Sutskever left the company in May to launch his own AI startup, Safe SuperIntelligence. His AI startup has already secured $1 billion in funding. John Schulman also departed OpenAI to join Anthropic, while former safety lead Jan Leike made a similar move earlier in the year.
According to a report from Bloomberg News, Brockman has been working closely with Altman, aiming to focus on addressing significant technical challenges facing the company.
Brockman previously served as OpenAI’s chief technology officer before transitioning to the role of president.
After his return, Brockman’s influence and institutional knowledge are expected to be valuable assets as the company navigates the challenges ahead.
Altman himself has faced serious challenges last year. He was briefly fired from the company in November 2023 and then soon made his return.
The lack of explanation for Altman’s initial dismissal by the board drew public scrutiny. It highlighted the potential for behind-the-scenes power struggles at the highest levels of OpenAI.
With Brockman back, ChatGPT’s father company will likely try to find stability and focus and will continue to push the limits of AI technology. Recently, the company launched SearchGPT, an AI-powered search engine, a competitor to Google, Perplexity, and other search engines.