OpenAI appoints new boss as Sam Altman joins Microsoft in Silicon Valley twist

FILE PHOTO: Sam Altman, CEO of Microsoft-backed OpenAI and ChatGPT creator speaks during a talk at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel June 5, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -OpenAI named ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, while outgoing chief Sam Altman moved to backer Microsoft, in a surprise turn of events that clouded the future of the startup at the heart of the artificial intelligence boom.

The appointments, settled late on Sunday, followed Altman's abrupt ousting just days earlier as CEO of the ChatGPT maker and ended speculation that he could return.