OpenAI is changing its leadership for the third time.

In less than a week, OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGPT chatbot, is appointing its fourth CEO. The surprising candidate is Sam Altman, who was fired just a few days ago.

Sam Altman was removed from the position of OpenAI's CEO at the end of last week by the board of directors' decision, and Miru Murati was temporarily appointed in his place. After the weekend, the announcement was made about the appointment of a new CEO, Emmett Shear, the co-founder and former head of Twitch. At the same time, Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, announced Altman's appointment as the head of a new artificial intelligence research department. And now, just two days later, OpenAI makes a sudden announcement:

"We have reached a fundamental agreement that Sam Altman will return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial composition of the board of directors, including Bret Taylor (chairman), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo," the company statement says in X.

"I love OpenAI, and everything I have done over the last few days has been aimed at preserving the unity of this team and its mission. When I decided to join Microsoft on a sunny evening, it became clear that this was the best path for me and the team. Thanks to the new board of directors and Satya's support, I look forward to returning to OpenAI and developing our strong partnership with Microsoft," wrote Sam Altman.

"We are inspired by the changes in the OpenAI board of directors. We believe that this is the first important step towards more stable, well-informed, and effective management. Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed that they will play a key role together with the OpenAI leadership team in ensuring the company's continued prosperity and the realization of its mission. We hope for further development of our strong partnership and providing next-generation AI benefits to our customers and partners," summarized the situation Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft.

It is unclear whether the fact that almost all OpenAI employees revolted against the board of directors helped or whether Satya Nadella, as the largest and main investor in OpenAI through Microsoft, was able to overturn the situation. Now the main thing is that at least until the end of the week, the CEO of OpenAI remains unchanged.