Paul Graham, the co-founder of startup accelerator Y Combinator, has dismissed claims that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was forced to resign as president of Y Combinator due to potential conflicts of interest. In a series of posts, Graham clarified that Altman was not fired but chose to leave to focus on OpenAI.
Altman joined Y Combinator as a partner in 2011 and was appointed as its president in 2014. He also co-founded OpenAI as a non-profit in 2015. However, when OpenAI decided to establish a for-profit subsidiary in 2019 with Altman as its CEO, Y Combinator founding partner Jessica Livingston told Altman that he had to choose between OpenAI and Y Combinator. Altman agreed and stepped down as Y Combinator’s president.
Graham’s account contradicts previous reports that Altman was forced to resign from Y Combinator after the accelerator’s partners alleged he’d put personal projects, including OpenAI, ahead of his duties as president. Some Y Combinator partners reportedly took issue with the indirect stake in OpenAI Altman held while Y Combinator’s president. However, Graham maintains that the investment was made before Altman was full-time at OpenAI and that he himself wasn’t aware of it.
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