A new report by The New Yorker revisits one of Silicon Valley’s most dramatic moments: the sudden removal and quick return of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI in 2023.
The story adds detail to what had long seemed like a vague boardroom dispute. At its center is Ilya Sutskever, then the company’s chief scientist. According to the report, Sutskever compiled a set of internal documents that raised serious concerns about Altman’s conduct.
These materials ran to about 70 pages. They included Slack messages and HR records. Sutskever shared them with select board members through disappearing messages, which kept the process quiet and limited.
The documents made direct claims. They accused Altman of misleading the board and senior leaders, including on matters tied to internal safety work. One memo opened with a blunt line: “Sam exhibits a consistent pattern of …” followed by the first listed concern, “Lying.”
This framing gives new meaning to the board’s public statement at the time. When Altman was fired, the board said he had not been “consistently candid.” That phrase drew confusion then. The report suggests it came from specific internal allegations, not general tension.
The moment of the firing stands out. Altman was in Las Vegas attending a Formula 1 race. Sutskever asked him to join a video call with the board. During that call, Altman learned he was no longer an employee of OpenAI. The decision came without warning and took effect at once.
The OpenAI Coup: A Crisis of Leadership and Integrity
What followed moved fast. Within hours, news of the firing spread across the tech world. Inside OpenAI, the reaction was strong. Many employees backed Altman. Reports at the time said hundreds of staff threatened to resign unless he returned.
Investors also applied pressure. The risk of a mass exit created a crisis for the company. Within five days, the board reversed course. Altman returned as CEO. Greg Brockman, who had stepped down in protest, also came back.
The board did not remain the same. It was reshaped after the episode. Sutskever later left the company. The event marked a clear shift in power inside OpenAI.
As part of the resolution, the company launched an independent review into Altman’s conduct. That process did not produce a public report. Instead, the findings were shared through oral briefings.
The outcome was mixed. The review allowed Altman to stay in his role. At the same time, it did not fully clear him. One source described the result with a simple line: the inquiry did not show that Altman had perfect integrity. That left room for doubt, even after the crisis ended.
The report also looks beyond OpenAI. It traces concerns about Altman’s leadership style to earlier stages of his career.
At his startup Loopt, senior employees raised issues more than once. They urged the board to remove him, citing problems with transparency and leadership. These concerns did not lead to his exit at the time, but they set a pattern.
Sam Altman’s History of Controversy and Leadership
Later, during his time at Y Combinator, similar questions surfaced. Some partners felt Altman gave too much focus to his personal investments. They worried this came at the expense of the firm’s interests.
The report also cites comments from Paul Graham. In private, he told colleagues that Altman had been “lying to us all the time,” according to the publication. In public, the message stayed more measured. Altman moved from president to chairman rather than leaving under pressure.
The investigation draws on more than 100 interviews. Several sources describe a pattern in how Altman handled power and information. One unnamed board member said he seemed “unconstrained by truth.” The same source said he showed little concern for the fallout of misleading others.
The report also mentions Aaron Swartz. It says he had warned friends about Altman’s behavior years earlier. These claims add a longer timeline to the concerns raised during the OpenAI episode.
Taken together, the report paints a complex picture. Altman remains one of the most influential figures in AI. He leads a company at the center of a fast-moving field. At the same time, questions about his leadership style have followed him across roles and years.
The events of 2023 now look less like a sudden clash and more like a breaking point. The board acted on concerns it believed were serious. The backlash showed how much support Altman held inside the company.
In the end, both forces shaped the outcome. Altman returned, but the episode left a mark. It changed the board, shifted internal dynamics, and raised questions that have not fully gone away.
