Numbers show that OpenAI’s Sam Altman, who was fired and reinstated as CEO after a boardroom crisis last weekend, gained 227,779 followers on X. According to analytics website Social Blade, Altman’s following on X has exploded days after the alleged boardroom coup at the AI firm.
Post the announcement of Altman’s firing by the OpenAI board, his followers on X spiked with an increase of 127,004 followers overnight. He kept gaining more followers at a higher rate over the next couple of days even as he was announced as the head of an advanced AI team with Microsoft. By Monday, Altman had returned to OpenAI after employees threatened to quit in show of support for his shock firing.
According to data, he gained 80,847 followers on Monday and another 97,087 followers on Tuesday. For comparison, he had had around 1.9 million followers on X at the beginning of this month which has now grown to 2.4 million.
Rise in Sam Altman’s X followers days after alleged coup at OpenAI. | Photo Credit: Nabeel Ahmed
A relatively unknown name until the arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Altman has quickly become popular since then. A lot is riding on his name especially with an expected sale of OpenAI stock hanging in the balance. The firing was shocking given how OpenAI is stayed in pole position in the ongoing AI race.
The company’s board structure has been changed after his reinstatement. OpenAI has indicated that it might expand the board to nine members with changes still underway.
