In a surprising turn of events, OpenAI announced that its co-founder and CEO, Sam Altman, would be rejoining its board of directors after being briefly pushed out of the company more than three months ago. The decision came after a highly anticipated report by the law firm WilmerHale, hired by OpenAI's board of directors to investigate Altman and his sudden removal in November. The report, although not released to the public, found that while the board had the discretion to terminate Altman, his conduct did not necessarily warrant his removal.

The company's current board member, Bret Taylor, expressed full confidence in Altman and Greg Brockman, the company president who had quit in protest after Altman's removal. Taylor stated that the board was excited and unanimous in their support for both Altman and Brockman. Altman had returned as CEO just five days after being pushed out and had agreed to an investigation of his behavior and the board's actions. Two members who had voted for Altman's ouster agreed to step down, and their replacements oversaw the investigation by WilmerHale.

In an effort to address concerns about a lack of diversity on the board, OpenAI also added three women as directors: Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Nicole Seligman, and Fidji Simo. The company has been in management upheaval for over four months, with Altman being one of three CEOs within three days at one point. However, with Altman's return and the appointment of new directors, including Altman himself, OpenAI seems to be moving towards stability and growth.

The independent investigation concluded that Altman was fired due to a breakdown of trust between him and the board, rather than concerns about AI safety or security. The board had acted too quickly in firing Altman and did not give him the opportunity to defend himself or correct his behavior. The interim board unanimously agreed that Altman and Brockman were the right leaders for OpenAI and plan to improve the company's governance structure moving forward.

Overall, OpenAI seems to be on the path to recovery and growth, with Altman back at the helm and a restructured board of directors in place to oversee the company's mission of ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.