#OpenAIs #Billion #Share #Sale #Jeopardy #Altman #Firing
A planned sale of OpenAI employee shares that would value the startup at about $86 billion on paper hangs in the balance after the sudden firing of CEO Sam Altman and a slew of top executive departures. The tender offer, which Thrive Capital is leading, has not yet closed but has been in its final stages and was expected to be completed as soon as next month, according to a person familiar with the matter.
By Saturday, three former OpenAI employees who were planning to participate in the tender said they no longer expected the sale to happen, or if it did, that it would come with a lesser valuation because of the recent turn of events. Greg Brockman, the president and technical leader who played a key role in developing the company’s blockbuster ChatGPT product, resigned hours after Altman’s firing, followed by three more senior researchers.
