Sam Altman's personal life may have caused OpenAI to fire him

In what seemed like a bizarre turn of events in the technology news cycle, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman being ousted from his position and then rehired, we are starting to learn a little bit more about why Altman was initially let go from his position.

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A new report from WIRED has revealed that Altman's personal life played a role in why the board decided to let him go, as the publication reports that Altman was spread too thin among his many entrepreneurial pursuits, and as OpenAI's board wrote in its blog post about Altman's departure, "he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities."

So, what could this mean? Altman wasn't just responsible for his duties at OpenAI; he was also rapidly investing in many startups that he saw potential in. For example, in 2019, OpenAI signed a nonbinding agreement to spend $51 million on AI chips developed by Rain AI, a company that Altman had personally invested $1 million into. "Over four years ago, we signed a nonbinding Letter of Intent with Rain to engage in discussions regarding a written agreement; we have not proceeded with next steps," said OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood

This is just one example of how Altman's personal affairs played a role in his initial firing at OpenAI.

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