Samuel Harris Altman born April 22, is an American entrepreneur and investor best known as the chief executive officer of OpenAI since he was briefly dismissed and reinstated in November Altman is considered to be one of the leading figures of the AI boom. In , Altman joined Y Combinator , a startup accelerator , and was its president from to Altman was born on April 22, , in Chicago , Illinois, [ 8 ] [ 9 ] into a Jewish family, [ 10 ] and grew up in St.
Louis , Missouri. His mother is a dermatologist, while his father was a real estate broker. Altman is the eldest of four siblings. In , at the age of 19, [ 17 ] Sam Altman co-founded Loopt , [ 18 ] a location-based social networking mobile application. In , Altman became a partner at Y Combinator YC , a startup accelerator that invests in a wide range of startups, initially working on a part-time basis.
OpenAI was established with the goal of promoting and developing friendly AI for the benefit of humanity. In March , YC announced Altman's transition from president to a less hands-on role as chairman of the board, allowing him to focus on OpenAI. In , Altman co-founded the for-profit company Tools For Humanity , [ 38 ] which builds and distributes systems designed to scan people's eyes to provide authentication and verify proof of personhood to counter fraud.
Participants who agree to have their eyes scanned are compensated with a cryptocurrency called Worldcoin. Altman has several other investments in companies including Humane , which is developing a wearable AI-powered device; Retro Biosciences, a research company aiming to extend human life by 10 years; [ 48 ] Boom Technology , a supersonic airline developer; Cruise , a self-driving car company that was acquired by General Motors ; and Helion Energy , an American fusion research company.
He stood for a photo with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. In May , after OpenAI's non-disparagement agreements were exposed, Altman was accused of lying when claiming to have been unaware of the equity cancellation provision for departing employees that don't sign the agreement. She also alleged that two executives in OpenAI had reported to the board "psychological abuse" from Altman, and provided screenshots and documentation to support their claims.
