OpenAI's Future in Doubt

Not all looks well at Nephew Sam's house.

Hey Everyone,

There’s been a lot of drama at OpenAI in the past. There is a lot of drama at OpenAI in the present. I’m not sure things turn out well for them in 2024. How do I even put this nicely?

Ilya appears to have been fired by Sam Altman, and the entire company is under anti-trust investigation.

The UK's competition watchdog is to look at whether Microsoft's high-value partnership with OpenAI could be considered as a merger. No kidding its a merger! Microsoft will even have a non-voting seat on the board! Microsoft funneling $13 Billion and Azure credits to OpenAI is way worse than Google acquiring Deepmind way back in 2014.

Competition regulators in the UK and US are examining Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI, one of the tech industry’s most lucrative tie-ups. It’s not just in the UK, but in the US as well. And they need to hear all sides of the story and the disclosures of former employees.

OpenAI is perhaps the most controversial A.I. startup in history. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority on Friday said it had begun an “information gathering process”, a necessary precursor to a formal investigation that is likely to begin next year. So while OpenAI are loyalty bonded by the tender offer to Sam Altman, many are sharing their experiences after they have moved on!

The company was established as a non-profit entity whose board controls a commercial unit, in which Microsoft is the biggest investor and let’s just say the Microsoft faction appears to have taken full control of the company and its board at this point in 2023. Those who opposed Sam Altman appear to have been forced out of the company and even the boardroom including two women.

Finally some rational investigation into this Silicon Valley heist. The CMA said the pace at which AI is scaling is “unrivalled in economic history,” and that advances in so-called foundation models, which describe general purpose AI tools such as ChatGPT, represent a “pivotal moment in the development of this transformative technology.”

Microsoft, which owns 49% of OpenAI, said it had "preserved independence" for both firms. What independence? Sam Altman is their boy, it’s so ridiculously corrupt. Greg Brockman sounds like a tool as well.

Last month, OpenAI, which is best known as the creator of ChatGPT, was plunged into chaos when its boss Sam Altman was suddenly fired. But he quickly regained control of the company with the help of Microsoft and other major investors.

The regulator said it will review whether Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI has resulted in an acquisition of control – in other words, a situation where one company has material influence, de facto control, or more than 50% of the voting rights over another entity. It’s clear to most sane on-lookers and the behavior and conduct of this company that it has. It’s not even following its original mission!

Deadline to Comment Fast Approaching

The CMA on Friday said it had asked the two companies, as well as “any interested party” such as competitors and customers, whether “the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI, including recent developments, has resulted in a relevant merger situation”. The deadline to comment is January 3.

Meanwhile details of Sam Altman’s misconduct is being leaked to the press. The Board had legitimate reason to fire him for various malpractices of leadership, including deception and trying to fire members of the board. It’s pretty serious. The multiple allegation of his style of leadership are fairly transparently depicted by former employees.

In fact the Board was pretty diplomatic in the messaging they used when they fired him. And now OpenAI and Microsoft’s reputation are being tarnished. Customers and even employees are beginning to look elsewhere. Talent might flee after the tender offer and cash out of this toxic company. The OpenAI board at the time said it “no longer has confidence” in Altman’s ability to continue leading OpenAI. Microsoft, which has an extensive partnership in place with OpenAI, subsequently hired Altman to lead a new advanced AI research team.

Within days of Altman’s firing, Nadella had also announced that Altman and OpenAI’s ousted chair, Greg Brockman, had been hired to lead a new artificial intelligence unit at Microsoft, an arrangement that never came to pass as Altman negotiated his return. What a scam that turns out to have been, which leads to rather nefarious conclusions.

There is a sense of total chaos at OpenAI, due to Sam Altman. The pressure to re-hire him as CEO was zealous and without real investigation. There is a major loss of trust, faith and transparency at this company moving forwards. OpenAI keeps deviating from its origins, ideology and supposed structure.

I don’t have a good feeling that his ends well for Microsoft or OpenAI in 2024 or 2025. If I was Microsoft, I’d be wary of putting too many eggs in one basket or for scaring off potential customers throwing Billions at a guy who has helped you raise Azure profits. Microsoft deserves an investigation over its Chinese ties due to National Security reasons.

GPT-5 and OpenAI won’t save humanity, in fact they may even profoundly harm it. Sam Altman is out of control and Microsoft has enabled all of this.