The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly looking into internal communications sent by OpenAI chief Sam Altman as part of an investigation into whether he misled investors.
Federal regulators subpoenaed the creators of ChatGPT in December for internal records of current and former OpenAI executives and board members, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. (The investigation has not been previously reported.) On that matter.
The move followed the previous OpenAI board’s decision to fire Altman as CEO and expel him from the company’s board in November.
At the time, the nonprofit startup’s board said it “concluded that his lack of consistent candor in his communications with the board impeded the board’s ability to meet its responsibilities.”
SEC officials in New York are spearheading the effort, according to the Journal, which has asked OpenAI executives to maintain internal communications at the company.
The paper said some officials said the investigation was an expected response to the previous board’s allegations in a November statement.
The report added that the SEC did not single out any specific statements or communications by Mr. Altman that it found to be misleading, citing a source.
An SEC spokesperson told the Post that the agency “does not comment on the possibility of an investigation.”
Representatives for OpenAI did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Altman, 38, returned as OpenAI’s CEO less than two weeks after stepping down as part of an agreement that eliminated five previous board members.
Instead, former Twitter Chairman Brett Taylor, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo were appointed to a new nine-member board in November.
The investigation comes amid reports that Mr. Altman is in talks to raise billions of dollars for a semiconductor venture. OpenAI also recently signed a deal that values the Microsoft-backed startup at more than $80 billion, The New York Times reported earlier this month.
Three people familiar with the matter confirmed the deal to The New York Times, saying the deal was a so-called tender offer led by Josh Kushner’s company Thrive Capital. He pointed out that the company plans to sell its existing shares.
The AI giant is governed by a nonprofit organization, but its for-profit arm has attracted deep-pocketed investors including Microsoft, part of a “multi-year deal” that gives the big tech company a 49% stake. has pledged $13 billion to the company. The Journal said it had acquired a stake in the company’s for-profit division’s profits.
Meanwhile, the company has continued to roll out new technology since Altman returned.
The latest version, called Sora, can generate high-quality videos in response to a few simple text queries.
Sora uses its “deep understanding of language” to create clips up to one minute long with “compelling characters” and “multiple shots in one generated video.” the company said on its website Dedicated to new technology.
