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Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Altman in 2019
Born
Samuel Harris Altman

(1985-04-22) April 22, 1985 (age 39)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationStanford University (dropped out)
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forLoopt, Y Combinator, OpenAI
TitleFormer CEO OpenAI
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Samuel Harris Altman (/ˈɔːltmən/ AWLT-mən; born April 22, 1985) is an American entrepreneur and investor. He has held key roles, including being the former CEO of OpenAI and president of Y Combinator. Along with OpenAI, Altman also co-founded Loopt and was briefly the CEO of Reddit.[1]

Early life and education

Altman is Jewish,[2] and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. His mother is a dermatologist. He received his first computer at the age of eight, an Apple Macintosh.[3] Altman's "childhood idol" was Steve Jobs.[4] He attended John Burroughs School. In 2005, after one year at Stanford University studying computer science, he dropped out without earning a bachelor's degree.[5]

Career

Loopt

In 2005, at the age of 19,[6] Altman co-founded Loopt,[7] a location-based social networking mobile application. As CEO, Altman raised more than $30 million in venture capital for the company; however, Loopt failed to gain traction with enough users. In March 2012, it was acquired by the Green Dot Corporation for $43.4 million.[8] The following month, Altman co-founded Hydrazine Capital with his brother, Jack Altman.[9][10] Altman got scurvy during his work on Loopt.[11]

Y Combinator

Altman became a partner at Y Combinator in 2011, initially working there on a part-time basis.[12] In February 2014, Altman was named president of Y Combinator by its co-founder, Paul Graham.[13] In a 2014 blog post, Altman said that the total valuation of Y Combinator companies had surpassed $65 billion, including Airbnb, Dropbox, Zenefits, and Stripe.[14] In September 2016, Altman announced his expanded role as president of YC Group, which included Y Combinator and other units.[15]

Altman said that he hoped to expand Y Combinator to fund 1,000 new companies per year. He also tried to expand the types of companies funded by YC, especially "hard technology" companies.[16]

In October 2015, Altman announced YC Continuity, a $700 million equity fund investing in YC companies as they matured.[17] A week earlier, Altman had introduced Y Combinator Research, a non-profit research lab, and donated $10 million to fund it.[18] YC Research has thus far announced research on basic income, the future of computing, education, and building new cities.[19]

In March 2019, YC announced Altman's transition from the president of the company to a less hands-on role as Chairman of the Board, for him to focus on OpenAI.[20] This decision came shortly after YC announced it would be moving its headquarters to San Francisco.[21] As of early 2020, he is no longer affiliated with YC.

OpenAI

By 2020, Sam Altman had left Y Combinator to focus full-time on OpenAI as CEO.[1] OpenAI was initially funded by Altman, Greg Brockman, Elon Musk, Jessica Livingston, Peter Thiel, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Infosys, and YC Research. When OpenAI launched in 2015, it had raised $1 billion.[22]

Altman testified before the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law on 16 May 2023 about issues of AI oversight.[23]

On November 17, 2023, it was announced that OpenAI's board had made the decision to remove Altman as CEO based on a lack of confidence.[24][25]

Reddit

Altman was the CEO of Reddit for eight days in 2014 after CEO Yishan Wong resigned.[26] He announced the return of Steve Huffman as CEO on July 10, 2015.[27]

Worldcoin

Altman co-founded Tools For Humanity in 2019,[28] a company building a global iris-based biometric system using cryptocurrency, called Worldcoin. Worldcoin aims to provide a reliable way to authenticate humans online,[29] to counter bots and fake virtual identities facilitated by artificial intelligence.[30] Using a distribution mechanism for its cryptocurrency similar to UBI, Worldcoin attempts to incentivize users[31] to join its network by getting their iris scanned using Worldcoin's orb-shaped iris scanner.[32]

Angel investing

Altman invests in technology startups and nuclear energy companies. Some of his portfolio companies include Airbnb, Stripe and Retro Biosciences.[33] He is also chairman of the board for Helion and Oklo, two nuclear energy companies.[34]

Philanthropy

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Altman helped fund and create Project Covalence to help researchers rapidly launch clinical trials in partnership with TrialSpark, a clinical trial startup.[35]

During the depositor run on Silicon Valley Bank in mid-March 2023, Altman provided capital to multiple startups.[36]

Politics

Recode reported that Altman might run for Governor of California in the 2018 election, which he did not enter. In 2018, Altman announced "The United Slate", a political project to improve housing and healthcare policy.[37]

In 2019, Altman held a fundraiser at his house in San Francisco for 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.[38] In May 2020, Altman donated $250,000 to American Bridge 21st Century, a super-PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.[39]

After the success of ChatGPT, Altman made a world tour in May 2023 where he visited 22 countries and met multiple leaders and diplomats:[40]

He met with British prime minister Rishi Sunak, French president Emmanuel Macron, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol, and Israeli president Isaac Herzog. He stood for a photo with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

Personal life

Altman has been a vegetarian since childhood.[41] He is gay[42] and dated Loopt co-founder Nick Sivo for nine years;[43] they broke up shortly after the company was acquired in 2012.[44] As of 2023, his partner is Oliver Mulherin, an Australian software engineer. Altman lives in San Francisco's Russian Hill neighborhood and owns a weekend home in Napa, California.[45]

Altman is a prepper.[2][46] He said in 2016: "I have guns, gold, potassium iodide, antibiotics, batteries, water, gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force, and a big patch of land in Big Sur I can fly to."[2]

Recognition

Nancy Pelosi presenting Sam Altman with the Ric Weiland Award in 2017

Altman was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023,[47] one of the "Best Young Entrepreneurs in Technology" by Businessweek in 2008,[48] and the top investor under 30 by Forbes magazine in 2015.[49]

In 2017, Altman received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo for supporting companies through its Velocity entrepreneurship program.[50] Later that year, GLAAD recognized Altman with the Ric Weiland Award for promoting LGBTQ equality and acceptance in the tech sector.[51]

Altman was invited to attend the Bilderberg conference in 2016,[52] 2022[53] and 2023.[54][55]

Altman was in 2023 the first person to obtain a golden visa to Indonesia.[56]

References

  1. ^ a b De Vynck, Gerrit (April 9, 2023). "The man who unleashed AI on an unsuspecting Silicon Valley". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Friend, Tad (October 3, 2016). "Sam Altman's Manifest Destiny". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  3. ^ Junod, Tom (December 18, 2014). "How Venture Capitalists Find Opportunities in the Future". Esquire. Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  4. ^ Nolan, Beatrice. "OpenAI CEO Sam Altman once said the only time he ever 'froze' was when he met his childhood idol Steve Jobs". Business Insider. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  5. ^ "People". Y Combinator. Archived from the original on June 25, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  6. ^ Ankeny, Jason (April 25, 2015). "Meet Y Combinator's Bold Whiz Kid Boss". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  7. ^ "Executives". Loopt. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  8. ^ Vascellaro, Jessica E. (March 9, 2012). "Startup Loopt Lands with Green Dot". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  9. ^ Hydrazine Capital GP, LLC (February 14, 2023). "Form ADV - Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration and Report by Exempt Reporting Advisers" (PDF). Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "Hydrazine Capital LP - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Mok, Aaron. "OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he worked so hard on building his first startup with his ex-boyfriend that he got scurvy". Business Insider. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  12. ^ Clark, Kate (March 8, 2019). "Y Combinator president Sam Altman is stepping down amid a series of changes at the accelerator". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ Loizos, Connie (November 6, 2015). "Garry Tan Says Goodbye to Y Combinator". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  14. ^ Altman, Sam (August 26, 2015). "YC Stats". Y Combinator. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  15. ^ Altman, Sam (September 13, 2016). "YC Changes". Y Combinator. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  16. ^ Chafkin, Max (April 16, 2015). "Y Combinator President Sam Altman is Dreaming Big". Fast Company. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  17. ^
    • "YC Continuity". Y Combinator. October 15, 2015. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
    • "YC Continuity". VentureBeat. October 15, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  18. ^ "YC Research". Y Combinator. October 7, 2015. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  19. ^ "Y Combinator Research". YC Research. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  20. ^ Loizos, Connie (March 9, 2019). "Did Sam Altman make YC better or worse?". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  21. ^ Clark, Kate (March 8, 2019). "Y Combinator president Sam Altman is stepping down amid a series of changes at the accelerator". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  22. ^ Olanoff, Drew (December 11, 2015). "Artificial Intelligence Nonprofit OpenAI Launches With Backing From Elon Musk And Sam Altman". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  23. ^ "WATCH: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifies before Senate Judiciary Committee". PBS NewsHour. May 15, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  24. ^ Peters, Jay (November 17, 2023). "Sam Altman fired as CEO of OpenAI". The Verge. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  25. ^ "OpenAI announces leadership transition". openai.com.
  26. ^ "A New Team At Reddit". Sam Altman. November 13, 2014. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  27. ^ "An Old Team At Reddit". reddit. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  28. ^ Currie, Richard (May 16, 2023). "Sam Altman rattles tin for Worldcoin crypto startup". The Register. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  29. ^ Pandolfo, Chris (May 16, 2023). "OpenAI CEO Sam Altman raises $100M for Worldcoin crypto project, which uses 'Orb' to scan your eye: report". FOXBusiness. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  30. ^ Hart, Robert. "What Is Worldcoin? Here's What To Know About The Eyeball-Scanning Crypto Project Launched By OpenAI's Sam Altman". Forbes. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  31. ^ "How the Launch Works". Worldcoin. October 21, 2021. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  32. ^ "Opening the Orb: A look inside Worldcoin's biometric imaging device". Worldcoin. January 27, 2023. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  33. ^ Regalado, Antonio (March 8, 2023). "Sam Altman invested $180 million into a company trying to delay death". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  34. ^ Hiller, Jennifer (April 23, 2023). "Tech Billionaires Bet on Fusion as Holy Grail for Business". Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  35. ^ Herper, Matthew (June 16, 2020). "Teaming tech and pharma, effort seeks to speed Covid-19 clinical trials". Stat. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  36. ^ Krystal, Hu; Tong, Anna; Jeffrey, Dastin (March 12, 2023). "Tech execs race to save startups from 'extinction' after SVB collapse". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  37. ^ Romm, Tony (July 31, 2017). "Sam Altman will spend big on a new political movement to fix U.S. housing, health care and more". Vox. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  38. ^ Russell, Melia (November 14, 2019). "Andrew Yang preached his tech-friendly gospel at Sam Altman's San Francisco house: You can't treat tech like oil companies and breaking up Amazon won't bring malls back". Business Insider. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  39. ^ Tindera, Michela. "Silicon Valley's Sam Altman Gave $250,000 To Democratic Super-PAC Supporting Biden". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  40. ^ Weil, Elizabeth (September 25, 2023). "Sam Altman Is the Oppenheimer of Our Age". Intelligencer.
  41. ^ "Fireside Chat with Sam Altman". Rescale. February 24, 2020. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  42. ^ Tech Pride: Sam Altman. February 8, 2019. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  43. ^ "Altman and his now ex-boyfriend, Sivo, built a start-up called Loopt, geolocation software for friends". Business Insider. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  44. ^ Friend, Tad (October 3, 2016). "Sam Altman's Manifest Destiny". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  45. ^ Metz, Cade (March 31, 2023). "The ChatGPT King Isn't Worried, but He Knows You Might Be". The New York Times.
  46. ^ Russell, Melia; Black, Julia. "Inside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's fixation on death and the apocalypse". Business Insider. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  47. ^ "Time 100". Time. April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  48. ^ "Tech's Best Young Entrepreneurs". Businessweek. April 18, 2008. Archived from the original on April 28, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
  49. ^ Wilson, Alexandra, ed. (January 5, 2015). "Forbes' 30 Under 30 2015: Venture Capital". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  50. ^ "University of Waterloo to honour Silicon Valley leader Sam Altman". CBC News. June 2, 2017. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  51. ^ "House Dem. Leader Nancy Pelosi presents award to Sam Altman at 2017 GLAAD Gala SF". GLAAD. September 11, 2017. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  52. ^ "The World's Most Powerful and Secret Group, Explained". Time. June 9, 2016.
  53. ^ "Participants 2022". www.bilderbergmeetings.org.
  54. ^ Gilchrist, Karen (May 18, 2023). "A secretive annual meeting attended by the world's elite has A.I. top of the agenda". CNBC.
  55. ^ Skelton, Charlie (May 20, 2023). "At Bilderberg's bigwig bash two things are guaranteed: Kissinger and secrecy". The Guardian.
  56. ^ "OpenAI CEO Receives Indonesia's First Golden Visa". Finews. September 6, 2023.
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