OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has appointed former Twitch executive Emmett Shear as its interim CEO following the removal of former CEO Sam Altman. Shear, a co-founder of startup accelerator Y Combinator alongside Altman, is recognized for being a vocal supporter of safety measures in artificial intelligence development.
On Monday, Shear outlined a strategy for OpenAI’s future, indicating intentions to revamp the management team and enlist an independent investigator to examine Altman’s departure. Specifically, he said he was going to:
- Hire an independent investigator to dig into the entire process leading up to this point and generate a full report.
- Continue to speak to as many of our employees, partners, investors, and customers as possible, take good notes, and share the key takeaways.
- Reform the management and leadership team in light of recent departures into an effective force to drive results for our customers.
He said he took this job because he believes that OpenAI is one of the most important companies currently in existence. “When the board shared the situation and asked me to take the role, I did not make the decision lightly. Ultimately I felt that I had a duty to help if I could.”
Here’s some things you might want to know about OpenAI’s new CEO Emmett Shear.
- He recently resigned as CEO from Amazon-owned Twitch this March after more than 16 years due to due to the birth of his now 9 month old son.
- Established in 2006 as Justin.tv by co-founders Emmett Shear and Justin Kan, the platform underwent a name change to Twitch in 2011. Swiftly garnering popularity within the gaming community, Twitch was acquired by Amazon for a sum just shy of $1 billion in 2014.
- Shear received a Bachelor of Science with a major in computer science in 2005 from Yale University, which he attended with Justin Kan.
- Shear and Kan applied to the first class of Y Combinator when they were seniors in 2005. As part of Y Combinator, both built a calendar application called Kiko, which they eventually sold on eBay for $250,000 after Google Calendar was introduced.
- For the past seven months, Shear has served as a partner at Y Combinator, offering guidance to startups on various aspects, including fundraising strategy and technical approach.
