Sam Altman is preparing to make a surprise return as CEO of the development company ChatGPT OpenAIamid pressure from investors to reverse his surprise departure.

Altman was fired from the company’s board on Friday, citing his failure to be “honest in his communications,” in a move that shocked Silicon Valley.

However, OpenAI’s investors – which include Microsoft – are now pushing to hire him back, according to the Guardian.

On Saturday, November 18, 2023, Information, a technology news website, reported that OpenAI was “optimistic” that it could bring Altman back.

The report cited a memo from the company’s chief strategy officer, Jason Kwon, telling staff that an effort was being made to bring back Altman and other colleagues who had left. His departure was followed by the resignations of Greg Brockman, president of OpenAI, and three other researchers: Jakub Pachocki, Aleksander Mądry and Szymon Sidor.

“We are still working towards a resolution and remain optimistic,” Kwon wrote, according to Information. “By resolve, we mean bringing back Sam, Greg, Jakub, Szymon, Aleksander and other colleagues (sorry if I missed you!) and remain the place where people who want to work on research, security, AGI products and policy can do their job well».

Kwon said the California-based company hopes to update staff further on Sunday. Early Sunday, Altman wrote to X: “I love the openai team so much».

The Wall Street Journal reported that Altman made it a condition of replacing the entire board if he returns as CEO: “Altman is considering returning, but has told investors he wants a new board. He has also discussed starting a company that would hire former OpenAI employees and is bouncing between those two options, people familiar with the matter said. Altman is expected to make a decision soon“, the sources added.