Sam Altman is returning as CEO of OpenAI, NBS News reports.

The company said Altman and the board have reached an agreement for him to return as CEO with a new board to replace the one that removed him on Friday.

Sam Altman’s return is expected to quell tensions within the company, as as we previously informed you over 700 OpenAI employees spoke out against the CEO’s removal and threatened to have theirs stayed if he was not brought back.

The corporate saga of Sam Altman’s firing is one of the most watched and commented upon in tech history.

OpenAI reported in an X post that the new board will be made up of three original members: former Salesforce co-CEO Brett Taylor, former White House counsel and Harvard University president Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo, CEO of the website Quora and a former Facebook employee. “We’re collabbing to iron out the details. Thank you very much for your patience during this process”.

We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo.

We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) November 22, 2023

The board members never gave specific details about their decision to remove Altman as CEO, other than their statement Friday saying Sam had not been “consistently candid in communication” with them and as a result they had “lost confidence” in his leadership style.

Altman said in a separate statement on X that he was happy to return as CEO. “i love openai, and everything i’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together”, he wrote.

i love openai, and everything i’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. when i decided to join msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m…

— Sam Altman (@sama) November 22, 2023

Altman expressed his anticipation for his return and emphasized the prospect of strengthening the existing partnership with Microsoft, given the newly constituted board. The collaboration between OpenAI and Microsoft is longstanding, marked by Microsoft’s investment in the startup and OpenAI’s utilization of Microsoft’s cloud computing services.

Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, conveyed his optimism about the changes in the OpenAI board, considering it a crucial first step toward achieving more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.

The decision was met with celebration by other OpenAI executives. Mira Murati, who briefly served as interim CEO following Altman’s departure, shared the OpenAI announcement on

Tuesday, accompanied by a simple blue heart emoji.