ChatGPT makers Sam Altman, Greg Brockman fired over 'quick' call on Google Meet

ChatGPT maker OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman were fired on Friday (Nov 17) from the board on a "quick" call arranged on Google Meet, revealed Brockman.

Brockman on Saturday (Nov 18) took to his official account on X and said that he and Sam are "shocked and saddened" by the way they were suddenly removed from the board and were "still trying to figure out" exactly what happened.

"Last night, Sam got a text from Ilya asking to talk at noon Friday. Sam joined a Google Meet and the whole board, except Greg, was there. Ilya told Sam he was being fired and that the news was going out very soon," wrote Brockman.

Ilya Sutskever is a board member and a co-founder at OpenAI.

"At 12:19 pm, Greg got a text from Ilya asking for a quick call. At 12:23 pm, Ilya sent a Google Meet link. Greg was told that he was being removed from the board (but was vital to the company and would retain his role) and that Sam had been fired. Around the same time, OpenAI published a blog post," he stated.

"As far as we know, the management team was made aware of this shortly after, other than Mira (Murati) who found out the night prior," Brockman added.

Brockman appreciates the 'outpouring of support'

He further said that the "outpouring of support" was really nice and that they would be okay.

"Greater things coming soon," he stated. Taking to X, Sam Altman said that it was "a weird experience" in different ways.

"Today was a weird experience in many ways. but one unexpected one is that it has been sorta like reading your own eulogy while you're still alive. the outpouring of love is awesome," he stated.

Watch:OpenAI sacks Sam Altman after deliberative review process

The board of directors of OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, on Friday announced that Sam Altman will leave the position of CEO and will not be on the board of directors.

"Mr Altman's departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI," read an official statement.

Meanwhile, OpenAI announced that the chief technology officer of the company Mira Murati will serve as interim CEO.

(With inputs from agencies)