Resign, or we will. That’s the ultimatum over 500 of OpenAI’s 700 employees have given the board of the company in a leaked letter, asking them to resign and reinstate Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.

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For those of you who have been following the company updates over the weekend, the letter might not come as a shock, even though one could argue that the employees — as noted by American journalist Kara Swisher — did go all out to bring their leaders back home.

The letter (which could not be independently verified by CNBC-TV18) was first posted on X by Swisher. It allegedly states that the signatories would all resign from the company and join Altman in the new Microsoft subsidiary unless the entire board steps down, appoints two new lead independent directors, such as Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, and reinstates Altman and Brockman.

The signatories — the first among them being Mira Murati, who was announced as the interim CEO when Altman was first ousted — also expressed their disdain for the board, saying that the process through which they terminated Altman and Brockman has “jeopardised” all the work put in by the OpenAI employees and undermined their mission. "Your conduct has made it clear you did not have the competence to oversee OpenAl," the letter shared by Swisher read.

Addressing the board directly, the staff added, "Despite many requests for specific facts for your allegations, you have never provided any written evidence.

“Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAl. We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgment, and care for our mission and employees,” it said.

“The leadership team suggested that the most stabilising path forward — the one that would best serve our mission, company, stakeholders, employees and the public — would be for you to resign and put in place a qualified board that could lead the company forward in stability.”

The letter also states that Microsoft has assured these people that there are positions open for all OpenAI employees, should they choose to join.

Other notable people who have supposedly signed the letter include COO Brad Lightcap, and chief scientist and board member Ilya Sutskever among others. Sutskever also shared a post on social media platform X, where he stated that he “deeply” regretted his participation in the “board’s actions” adding that he would do everything to reunite the company.

I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.

— Ilya Sutskever (@ilyasut) November 20, 2023

Altman was fired by the OpenAI board on Friday, post which there were also talks about a homecoming but they were unsuccessful and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, on Monday, announced that Altman would be joining Microsoft as the CEO of a new internal AI unit.

Former Twitch chief Emmett Shear is currently named the CEO of OpenAI.

Also Read: Emmett Shear is the new CEO of OpenAI as board refuses investors' call to reinstate ousted Sam Altman

First Published:Nov 20, 2023 8:32 PM IST