OpenAI likely to deny board seat to Microsoft: report

OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, is not likely to grant board seats to investors such as Microsoft, Khosla Ventures, and Thrive Capital for its new board, according to a source familiar with the matter.

In a few tumultuous days last week, OpenAI ousted its CEO and founder Sam Altman without any detailed cause, setting off alarm bells among investors and employees. He was reinstated with the promise of a new board. Altman's exit sparked confusion about the future of the startup at the centre of an artificial intelligence boom. 

The Information, the international business publication, first reported the news and said OpenAI will have a nine-person board. The three initial directors of the new board - Chair Bret Taylor, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo - are expected to be confirmed as soon as this week, the report said. D'Angelo would be the only remaining director from the old six-person board that fired Altman. 

Microsoft, which has invested more than $10 billion in OpenAI, is one of the biggest backers of OpenAI that operates ChatGPT, its viral generative AI chatbot. Its CEO Satya Nadella had earlier told CNBC the governance at the ChatGPT maker needed to change no matter where Altman ended up.

In response to a question on the OpenAI board, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "We will wait until the board officially says something." OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Khosla declined to comment.