OpenAI’s Mira Murati details boardroom battle over Sam Altman’s return as CEO

The former CTO says OpenAI would have "imploded" without Altman's reinstatement, offering the most candid account yet of five days that nearly destroyed the most valuable AI company on Earth.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team Jun. 6, 2026

Mira Murati, the former CTO of OpenAI, has laid bare the chaos that gripped the company during its November 2023 leadership crisis. In a June 5 interview with Bloomberg, Murati said flatly that OpenAI would have failed if Sam Altman had not been brought back as CEO.

Five days that almost ended OpenAI

On November 17, 2023, OpenAI’s board fired Altman, citing concerns about his management style. Murati was named interim CEO. Murati’s first move as interim chief was to push for the reinstatement of Altman. She rallied employees and investors around the argument that Altman’s return was essential for the company’s survival.

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The board replaced her with former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear as a second interim CEO. Altman returned on November 22, just five days after the original ouster.

Governance overhaul and lingering legal shadows

Altman’s reinstatement triggered a significant restructuring of OpenAI’s governance. The board members who orchestrated the firing were replaced, and Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest investor, was installed as a board observer.

Murati’s recent comments also echo testimony she provided in Elon Musk’s ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI. In that legal proceeding, her remarks touched on persistent concerns about OpenAI’s leadership dynamics and the company’s ability to manage rapid growth.

Murati’s next chapter and what it signals

Murati left OpenAI in September 2024, roughly a year after the crisis. She went on to found Thinking Machines Lab in early 2025. Thinking Machines Lab secured a $2 billion seed round, achieving a $12 billion valuation.

What this means for investors watching the AI sector

The November 2023 crisis was a direct consequence of tension between OpenAI’s nonprofit origins and its commercial growth. Board members aligned with the nonprofit mission clashed with the commercial reality that Altman had built. Altman won, decisively, but the underlying friction between mission-driven governance and growth-oriented leadership persists across the AI industry.

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