Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, discusses his surprise at being let go by the board: "Caught off guard"

• In November, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, publicly announced his dismissal by the board.
• The surprise ouster of Altman from OpenAI was due to its unique corporate structure.
• The night OpenAI's board voted out its founder and CEO, Altman expressed his surprise, confusion, and being caught off guard.

Sam Altman, the founder and CEO of OpenAI, described the night he was removed from his position by the board as "wild," and he felt "super confused" and "super caught off guard."

Altman stated at a private gathering at the Bloomberg House on the Davos Promenade on Tuesday, "But this is the structure, and I immediately went to go thinking about what I was going to do next."

Altman reflected on the dramatic turn of events that led to his ouster and subsequent reinstatement in November, stating, "It was not until some board members called me the next morning that I even thought about really coming back." He added, "But, like, the board did have all of the power there."

The surprise ouster of Sam Altman from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, was due to its unique corporate structure.

Unlike most tech founders, Altman does not own the company he founded, which contributes to his unique power dynamic.

In a May Senate hearing on artificial intelligence, Altman stated that he has no equity in OpenAI.

"It was foretold by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., that you would require either a lawyer or an agent," he joked.

The founder of the $86 billion generative AI startup struggled to maintain control and financial stake in the company due to a confusing organizational chart.

The board of directors of OpenAI Inc., a 501(c)(3) charity, holds the top position in the power hierarchy and is responsible for controlling the organization.

OpenAI Global, a capped-profit company, sits between the board and the nonprofit, with Microsoft having invested $10 billion in the company in January last year. The organization also includes a holding company and other entities.

In November, the board removed the chief executive from OpenAI due to a loss of confidence, resulting in a messy situation that involved the entire staff threatening to resign.

The removal of Altman from OpenAI was due to concerns about AI safety and his role in protecting it.

Although the tech giant invested significantly in the startup, they did not have a board seat or any influence over Altman's termination.

During Thanksgiving week, the OpenAI drama dominated the news cycle, but within days, Altman was reinstated to his original post.

During the afternoon meeting in Davos, Altman announced that nearly all of the company's employees had signed a letter expressing their support for his reinstatement as CEO.

Altman stated that if the plan had been implemented, it would have destroyed everyone's equity, and for many employees, it would have been their entire wealth. He found it unusual that people were willing to go through with it. Additionally, OpenAI's investors, including Microsoft, would have seen their investments wiped out.

"I would like to make our shareholders a lot of money, but it was evident that people's priorities were aligned," Altman stated, emphasizing the unity of his staff and investors.

Altman questioned the moderator about pursuing the line of questioning regarding his surprise firing and rehiring, despite numerous invitations from the press to speak out.

"Is this soap opera truly what we should be spending our time on instead of what AGI will accomplish?" Altman inquired sincerely.

Altman stated that OpenAI would not transform into a traditional Silicon Valley for-profit company, despite being asked about it.

Although we won't be a traditional company, we should examine our structure and be open to exploring other options.

Altman stated that the focus was on the board rather than reconsidering the company structure at this time.

"One of the challenges for us at OpenAI is the level of commitment our team and those around us have to our mission," Altman stated.

— CNBC’s Rohan Goswami contributed to this report.