KEY POINTS
- The board of OpenAI sacked CEO Sam Altman last week, stating that it “no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading” the business.
- Early on Monday, Twitch’s co-founder and previous CEO, Emmett Shear, was announced as the company’s acting CEO.
- Everything you need to know about Altman’s replacement is covered by CNBC.
Sam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, was abruptly fired a few days ago, and his replacement has already been announced.
Emmett Shear, the former co-founder and CEO of Twitch, officially announced that he will take the top position at arguably the most well-known AI startup in the world, capping a weekend full of rumours and conjecture.
Shear said on X early on Monday that he received a call from the company requesting that he step in as interim CEO and that, “after consulting with my family and reflecting on it for just a few hours,” he had accepted the offer.
It follows Altman’s departure from OpenAI, where he oversaw the creation of the enormously successful generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, following pressure to resign from the board.
Although the reasons for his exit remain unknown, some insiders have voiced doubts about Altman’s suitability for the organisation. There were worries that the fact that he is associated with Worldcoin, an eye-scanning tech startup, would have been a distraction.
Who is Emmett Shear?
Although Shear is well-known in Silicon Valley, most people are unaware of him.
Shear turned the live-streaming platform Twitch, which he co-founded in 2007 alongside Justin Kan, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt, from a platform that first streamed Kan’s life around the clock to a global sensation.
After Twitch was purchased by Amazon in 2014 for $1 billion, Shear resigned as the company’s CEO the previous year.
He encountered conflict while working for the company since some streamers felt that the platform wasn’t standing up for their rights. With rival YouTube luring some well-known Twitch personalities with lucrative exclusive broadcasting partnerships, it found itself embroiled in a heated talent war.
Shear joined the startup accelerator Y Combinator as a partner following his resignation from the streaming platform. Prior to this, Altman served as Y Combinator’s president.
Shear was on the 2005 Y Combinator programme and co-founded the calendar app Kiko Calendar before starting Twitch.
Shear gave an explanation for accepting the OpenAI position in his post on X Monday.
Shear wrote in the post early on Monday, “I had recently resigned from my role as CEO of Twitch due to the birth of my now 9 month old son.”
“Being with him has been just as fulfilling as I had anticipated, and I was content to forgo a full-time job.”
“I accepted this position because I think OpenAI is among the most significant businesses operating today. I didn’t make the decision lightly when the board informed me of the circumstances and requested me to assume the role.