Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Sam Altman

How Sam Altman built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.

Sam Altman is an American entrepreneur and the CEO of OpenAI since 2019. He's primarily known for leading OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence research organization. Altman's role places him at the forefront of advancements in AI, influencing its development and applications. His leadership is pivotal in shaping the direction of AI research and its impact on society.

Sections (4)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Success & Recognition

2005: Co-founded Loopt

In 2005, at the age of 19, Altman co-founded Loopt, a location-based social networking mobile application.

2011: Became Partner at Y Combinator

In 2011, Altman became a partner at startup accelerator Y Combinator (YC), initially working on a part-time basis.

2011: Joined Y Combinator

In 2011, Altman joined Y Combinator, a technology startup accelerator and venture capital firm.

March 2012: Loopt Acquired by Green Dot Corporation

In March 2012, after failing to gain traction, Loopt was acquired by the Green Dot Corporation for $43.4 million.

April 2012: Co-founded Hydrazine Capital

In April 2012, Altman co-founded Hydrazine Capital with his brother, Jack Altman.

February 2014: Became President of Y Combinator

In February 2014, Altman became president of Y Combinator.

2014: Served as Interim CEO of Reddit

For eight days in 2014, Altman was the CEO of Reddit, after the resignation of Yishan Wong.

2014: President of Y Combinator

In 2014, Altman became the president of Y Combinator.

July 10, 2015: Steve Huffman Returns as CEO of Reddit

On July 10, 2015, Altman announced the return of Steve Huffman as CEO of Reddit.

October 2015: Expanded Y Combinator's scope

In October 2015, Altman was involved in expanding YC's scope. He contributed $10 million to the initial fund of Y Combinator Research, and announced YC Continuity, a fund to invest in maturing YC companies.

2015: Co-founded OpenAI

In 2015, Altman co-founded OpenAI.

2015: Motivations for OpenAI

In 2015, Altman stated that they were partly motivated by concerns about AI safety and existential risk from artificial general intelligence. Altman highlighted the importance of open-source and making AI for collective good for humanity, above financial stakeholders in response to mitigation of risk.

2015: OpenAI Founded as a Nonprofit

In 2015, OpenAI was initially founded as a nonprofit organization by Altman, Greg Brockman, Elon Musk, Jessica Livingston, Peter Thiel, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Infosys, and YC Research and launched raising pledges for $1 billion.

September 2016: Expanded role at YC Group

In September 2016, Altman's role at YC expanded to president of YC Group, which included Y Combinator and other units.

2018: Consideration of Running for Governor and Announcement of "the United Slate"

In 2018, Sam Altman considered running for governor of California but decided against it. Also in 2018, he announced "the United Slate", a political project aimed at improving U.S. housing and healthcare policy.

March 2019: Left Y Combinator to Focus on OpenAI

In March 2019, Altman left Y Combinator to focus full time as CEO of OpenAI. OpenAI planned to spend $1 billion within five years to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI).

2019: Left Y Combinator

Altman was the president of Y Combinator until 2019.

2019: Became CEO of OpenAI

In 2019, Altman became the CEO of OpenAI.

2019: Co-founded Tools For Humanity

In 2019, Altman co-founded the for-profit company Tools For Humanity, which promoted the Worldcoin cryptocurrency.

2020: Altman and YC terminated their relationship

In early 2020, Altman and YC terminated their relationship.

March 2021: Co-founded AltC Acquisition Corp

In March 2021, Altman and Michael Klein co-founded AltC Acquisition Corp, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), where he was also the CEO.

2021: Invested in funding for Reddit

In 2021, Altman invested in multiple rounds of funding for Reddit.

2021: Publication of "Moore's Law for Everything"

In 2021, Sam Altman published a blog post titled "Moore's Law for Everything," expressing his belief that within ten years, AI could generate enough value to fund a UBI of $13,500 per year for every adult in the United States.

November 2022: Launch of ChatGPT

In November 2022, Altman oversaw the launch of ChatGPT, which led to him being described as one of the leading figures of the AI boom.

December 2022: Launched ChatGPT Free Preview

In December 2022, OpenAI received widespread media coverage after launching a free preview of ChatGPT, a new AI chatbot based on GPT-3.5. The preview received over a million signups within the first five days.

2022: Left Reddit's Board

In 2022, Altman remained on Reddit's board until this year.

March 2023: Involved in COVID-19 and SVB Crisis Efforts

During March 2023, Altman helped fund Project Covalence for clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided capital to startups during the Silicon Valley Bank crisis.

May 2023: World Tour After ChatGPT Success

In May 2023, after the success of ChatGPT, Altman made a world tour, visiting 22 countries and meeting multiple leaders and diplomats.

May 16, 2023: Testified Before the Senate

On May 16, 2023, Altman testified before the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law about issues of AI oversight.

November 2023: Rationale for Firing Altman

In November 2023, Helen Toner, a former board member, explained the board's rationale for firing Sam Altman. She stated that Altman had withheld information, like not informing the board about ChatGPT's release, and failing to disclose his ownership of OpenAI's startup fund. She also alleged that two executives reported "psychological abuse" from Altman and that employees feared retaliation if they didn't support Altman. It was also mentioned that during Altman's time as Loopt's CEO, the management team had twice requested his termination due to what they called "deceptive and chaotic behavior".

November 17, 2023: Removed as CEO of OpenAI

On November 17, 2023, OpenAI's board announced their decision to remove Altman as CEO. Greg Brockman also stepped down. The board cited that Altman "was not consistently candid in his communications".

November 21, 2023: Returned to OpenAI

On November 21, 2023, after negotiations, Altman and Brockman returned to OpenAI in their prior roles along with a reconstructed board made up of new members Bret Taylor and Lawrence Summers, with D'Angelo remaining.

2023: Thiel's Warning at Birthday Party

At a birthday party Thiel organized for Danzeisen in mid-November 2023, Thiel warned Sam Altman that half of Altman's subordinates at OpenAI, who had supposedly been "programmed" by Eliezer Yudkowsky, wanted to remove Altman.

2023: Ousted and Reinstated as CEO of OpenAI

In 2023, Altman was ousted as CEO of OpenAI by the board of directors due to a lack of confidence, but was reinstated five days later after backlash from employees and investors.

2023: Hydrazine Launched Fourth Fund

In 2023, when Hydrazine launched its fourth fund, the University of Michigan endowment was the only outside investor.

May 2024: Oklo Inc. Completed Merger

In May 2024, Oklo Inc. completed a merger with AltC Acquisition Corp, becoming a public company. Altman remained as chairman of Oklo.

May 2024: Signing The Giving Pledge

In May 2024, Sam Altman and his husband Oliver Mulherin committed to giving away most of their wealth by signing The Giving Pledge.

November 2024: Brockman returned to OpenAI

In November 2024, Brockman returned to OpenAI.

November 18, 2024: Appointment to Daniel Lurie's Transition Team

On November 18, 2024, Sam Altman was named to San Francisco Mayor-Elect Daniel Lurie's transition team.

2024: Suggestion of "Universal Basic Compute"

In 2024, Sam Altman suggested a new kind of UBI called "universal basic compute" to give everyone a "slice" of ChatGPT's computing power.

2024: Listed as Third-Largest Shareholder of Reddit

Prior to Reddit's initial public offering in 2024, Altman was listed as its third-largest shareholder, with around 9% ownership.

April 2025: Stepped Down as Chairman of Oklo

In April 2025, Altman stepped down as chairman of Oklo Inc. to "avoid conflict of interest" and "open up opportunities for future deals between OpenAI and Oklo."