Diving Deep Into Sam Altman’s history

Hi everyone. In a new, five-episode podcast series, we dive into the question of Sam Altman’s trustworthiness. Note to readers of Q&AI and T [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( [by Ellen Huet]( Hi everyone. In a new, five-episode podcast series, we dive into the question of Sam Altman’s trustworthiness. Note to readers of Q&AI and The Big Take newsletters: You're getting today's [Tech Daily](because we thought you'd like this new podcast. If you'd like to continue to get Tech Daily, you can [subscribe here](. But first... Three things you need to know today: • Nvidia’s market cap topped $3 trillion, elevating the chipmaker to the [most valuable company behind Microsoft]( • Elon Musk’s xAI will build a factory to house [a supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee]( • Alphabet has a new [chief financial officer]( The King of AI Should we trust [Sam Altman](bbg://people/profile/16408119)? When the OpenAI chief executive officer was temporarily fired in November, it prompted significant questions about his professional conduct and integrity. The board called him “not consistently candid.” For a while, Altman managed to brush off those allegations. An investigation conducted by an outside law firm [cleared]( him of wrongdoing in March. Three of the four board members who voted to fire him left the board, and he was allowed to return to the leading AI startup. But in recent weeks, Altman and his company have been hit with a volley of departures and criticisms. Key OpenAI employees who worked on AI safety have left, including co-founder [Ilya Sutskever](bbg://people/profile/23717953), one of the board members who voted to oust Altman. [Helen Toner](bbg://people/profile/23717958), another former board member, went on a TED [podcast]( and [accused]( Altman of lying to the board. “We just couldn’t believe the things that Sam was telling us,” she said. This week, current and former OpenAI employees [published]( a letter asking for protection from retaliation for speaking up with concerns about the company. OpenAI was accused of having overly aggressive nondisparagement clauses, which Altman later apologized for. Even the high-paid actress Scarlett Johansson [said]( Altman was duplicitous last month when OpenAI released a voice feature that Johansson claimed was “eerily similar” to hers. Altman has denied that OpenAI tried to mimic Johansson’s voice, and apologized for not communicating better with her. Two of OpenAI’s new board members, Larry Summers and Bret Taylor, said in a [recent column in the Economist]( that “in six months of nearly daily contact with the company we have found Mr. Altman highly forthcoming on all relevant issues and consistently collegial with his management team.” In March, Altman apologized for his behavior toward the board that preceded his short dismissal. “I should have handled that situation with more grace and care,” he said. The question of whether to trust Altman is more urgent now than ever. In the new season of [Foundering](, Bloomberg Technology’s narrative podcast, which begins airing Thursday, we dive deep into the story of Sam Altman and OpenAI to give listeners the material and analysis they need to come to their own conclusions. The five-episode season examines Altman from the time he was a 19-year-old startup founder to his tenure as head of Y Combinator, and now the billionaire king of this AI boom. In particular, we examine the allegations of Altman’s manipulative and deceptive behavior, which have followed him for years and are cresting now. We chronicle his ability, from a young age, to form advantageous alliances with older and influential people such as investor [Peter Thiel](bbg://people/profile/1968401) and [Paul Graham](bbg://people/profile/17159313), the co-founder of Y Combinator. Altman’s early years are the focus of a new [Bloomberg Businessweek feature](, which looks at the Silicon Valley veteran’s long history of amassing power. We also explore the ways that Altman’s rosy, grandiose projections of our AI future collide with the messy reality of his sister. While Altman was on stage talking about how the world should eradicate poverty and AI can help with it, his sister, Annie, was struggling with homelessness in Hawaii. [Episodes 1]( and [2]( of Foundering: The OpenAI Story are available now for listeners, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and future episodes will air on Thursdays. Bloomberg.com subscribers can listen to the entire series of Foundering right now by connecting their subscription to Apple Podcasts for early access.—[Ellen Huet](mailto:ehuet4@bloomberg.net) Bloomberg Technology podcast [Foundering: The OpenAI Story is a narrative podcast that examines the rise of Sam Altman, from the time he was a 19-year-old startup founder, then the head of Y Combinator, and now the billionaire king of this AI boom.]( The big story A cyberattack has devastated patient care at some of London’s top hospitals. Some of the facilities are postponing operations and are resorting to handwritten notes after the hack of a [medical services provider that helps manage blood transfusions](. One to watch [Watch Ezinne Uzo-Okoro, a senior fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center, interviewed on Bloomberg Television about the liftoff of Boeing’s space taxi with astronauts bound for the International Space Station.]( Get fully charged Donald Trump topped US President Joe Biden in terms of an audience on [TikTok with just one video](. Humane tells customers with its Ai pin to stop using the [battery charger case because of safety risks.]( AI video startup Pika raised $80 million from investors including [Spark Capital and actor Jared Leto](. 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