Altman described the period as an "adrenaline-charged state," during which he barely ate or slept. The most challenging moment, however, occurred approximately two days into his ousting, as reported by The Business Insider.
In an interview with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on CNBC, it was revealed that the board had initially led them to believe that Altman would be reinstated. "It was probably 48 hours in," Chesky recalled. "The board had led us to believe he was going to be reinstated, and right before midnight, we get information that Emmett Shear is now the CEO."
At this juncture, Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman expressed their intention to move to Microsoft, marking a significant turning point. Chesky, who had hoped the former executives would fight to stay, acknowledged their readiness to depart if it was in the best interest of OpenAI and its employees. "I thought that was the end of it," Chesky admitted.
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However, the situation took an unexpected turn when Chesky's friendship with Shear, the former Twitch CEO who briefly helmed OpenAI, opened a new line of communication. "The miraculous thing was, it turns out Emmett Shear is also a friend of mine and that opened a new line of communication," Chesky said.
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Despite the disappointing news, Chesky expressed admiration for Altman's selflessness during the ordeal. "When people are attacked, they typically go to themselves," Chesky observed. "And Sam was focused not on himself, but OpenAI and that made me want to fight for him."
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Chesky, a long-time friend of Altman, was one of the first people he reached out to following his dismissal. Both Altman and Shear had previously mentored Chesky at startup Y Combinator. In a testament to their enduring relationship, Shear and Chesky collaborated to reinstate Altman as CEO, as per a report from The Wall Street Journal.
