Salesforce moves to recruit unsettled OpenAI workers amid Altman departure

Salesforce is pouncing on the opportunity to poach OpenAI employees unsettled by the ouster of co-founder and former CEO Sam Altman in recent days as the customer relationship management firm looks to boost its artificial intelligence (AI) division.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the company will match the pay and equity compensation of OpenAI researchers who resign from the firm in protest of the board’s removal of Altman.

“Salesforce will match any OpenAI researcher who has tendered their resignation full cash & equity OTE to immediately join our Salesforce Einstein Trusted AI research team under Silvio Savarese,” Benioff wrote. “Send me your cv directly to ceo@salesforce.com. Einstein is the most successful enterprise AI platform completing 1 Trillion predictive & generative transactions this week!”

OPENAI’S EMPLOYEES REVOLT, THREATEN TO QUIT UNLESS BOARD REINSTATES ALTMAN AND RESIGNS

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Salesforce’s offer.

OpenAI employees revolted after Friday’s announcement that Altman was being removed from his role at the ChatGPT-maker.

Altman was removed due to what the company has called a “breakdown in communication” between him and the board — which could cause a number of those employees to step aside and reach out to other firms such as Salesforce.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

More than 500 of the artificial intelligence company’s roughly 770 workers signed a letter submitted to its board of directors and obtained by FOX Business, threatening to follow Altman to Microsoft unless their demands are met.

“Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI,” the letter reads. “We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees. We, the undersigned, may choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly announced Microsoft subsidiary run by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.”

It adds, “Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join.”

For its part, OpenAI announced that Emmett Shear, former Twitch co-founder and CEO, will serve as the company’s interim CEO.