As the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman has catapulted AI into mainstream awareness with the release of ChatGPT, but his leadership is under scrutiny after a sudden ouster. Can he regain control and lead the company to new heights?
From College Dropout to Tech Icon: The Rise of Sam Altman
Sam Altman is one of the most closely watched figures in Silicon Valley today, and as he turns 40, we take a look back at his path from college dropout to the face of AI.
Sam Altman is a well-known American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and engineer.
He co-founded Loopt, a location-based social networking app, and served as its CEO until it was acquired in 2012.
Altman also co-founded Y Combinator, a startup accelerator program that has backed companies like Airbnb, Dropbox, and Reddit.
In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, Altman serves on the boards of various organizations, including Stripe and OpenAI.
Elon Musk is a South African-born entrepreneur and business magnate.
He co-founded PayPal, which was later sold to eBay for $1.5 billion.
Musk then went on to found SpaceX, aiming to reduce space transportation costs and enable the colonization of Mars.
He also founded Tesla, Inc., which revolutionized the electric vehicle industry.
With his innovative ventures, Musk has become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in history, with an estimated net worth of over $200 billion.
Early Beginnings
After dropping out of Stanford in his sophomore year, ‘I just didn’t enjoy it,’ said Sam Altman, launched his first company, Loopt, a location-sharing app that let users broadcast their whereabouts to friends. It was among the earliest startups funded by Y Combinator (YC), then a fledgling startup incubator. Altman stayed close to YC after his time in its accelerator program.
Investing and Incubation
In 2011, he joined YC as a part-time partner. Loopt struck deals with carriers like Sprint in 2012 but failed to gain traction with users. That year, it was acquired by Green Dot Corporation for $43 million. Altman used the moment to pivot into investing, co-founding a venture capital firm called Hydrazine Capital with his brother Max Altman.
Leadership at Y Combinator
In 2014, YC founders ‘Paul Graham said that Sam was the best person he had ever met.’ and Jessica Livingston tapped Altman to succeed Graham as president, and he accepted. Under his leadership, YC cemented its reputation as the world’s leading startup incubator.
The Quiet Rise of OpenAI
In 2015, Altman co-founded OpenAI with ‘We’re not sure what we are building,’ said Elon Musk, then a friend and collaborator now more of a rival. The organization launched with $1 billion in pledged funding from Altman, Musk, Peter Thiel, Amazon Web Services, and others. Altman and Musk initially served as co-chairs.
OpenAI is a research organization focused on developing and advancing artificial intelligence (AI) in a safe and beneficial way.
Founded in 2015, the company has made significant contributions to AI research, including the development of GPT-3, a large language model capable of generating human-like text.
OpenAI's mission is to ensure that AI is used for the betterment of society, and it has partnered with various organizations to advance AI research and applications.
Challenges and Changes
In 2018, Musk exited after Altman declined his proposal to take over leadership of the company. His departure—and the loss of his financial backing—left OpenAI in a vulnerable position. In response, the organization created a for-profit subsidiary in 2019 to fund its research, while control remained with the original nonprofit board.
The ChatGPT Era
The release of ChatGPT in November 2022 marked a turning point, catapulting AI into mainstream awareness. The chatbot’s ability to generate quick, coherent, and often strikingly human responses dazzled users. More than a million people signed up within days, and in the months that followed, ChatGPT became a household name.
Controversy and Resilience
The company’s newfound visibility brought heightened scrutiny. In November 2023, OpenAI‘s board abruptly fired Altman, citing a lack of candor in his communications. The move sparked immediate backlash: employees threatened to walk out, Microsoft extended Altman a job offer, and board member ‘I think Sam is a great guy,’ said Ilya Sutskever, publicly recanted his support for the ouster.
Personal Life
In January 2024, Altman married his partner Oliver Mulherin, an Australian software engineer. Photos of their small, seaside wedding circulated online. The couple first went public with their relationship after appearing together at a White House state dinner in June 2023.
