# Sam Altman

Samuel Harris Altman (born April 22, 1985) is an American entrepreneur and investor, CEO of OpenAI since 2019, known for leading the AI boom and overseeing ChatGPT's launch.

Samuel Harris Altman (born April 22, 1985) is an American entrepreneur and investor who has been the chief executive officer (CEO) of the artificial intelligence company [OpenAI](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/openai) since 2019. He is a prominent figure in the [AI](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-intelligence) boom, having supervised the launch of [ChatGPT](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/large-language-model) in November 2022. Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and became its CEO in 2019, a role that made him a central figure in the development of [generative AI](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/generative-ai) technologies.

Altman attended Stanford University for two years before dropping out to co-found Loopt, a geosocial networking app. He later led startup accelerator [Y Combinator](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/y-combinator) as president from 2014 to 2019. His investments span over 400 companies, including Reddit, Worldcoin, Helion Energy, and Instacart, making him a billionaire. In 2023, he was briefly ousted from OpenAI's board but reinstated after five days.

## Early Life and Education

Altman was born in Chicago on April 22, 1985, to a Jewish American family. His mother, Connie Gibstine, is a dermatologist, and his father, Jerry Altman, was a real estate broker. He is the eldest of four siblings: brothers Max and Jack, and sister Ann. His paternal great-grandfather was born in Płock, Poland. In 1989, the family moved to Clayton, Missouri.

At age eight, Altman received his first computer, an Apple Macintosh, and began learning to code and disassemble hardware. He attended John Burroughs School, a private institution in Ladue, Missouri. In 2005, after studying computer science for two years at Stanford, he dropped out without earning a degree.

## Business Career

### Early Career

In 2005, at age 19, Altman co-founded Loopt, a location-based social networking mobile app. As CEO, he raised over $30 million in venture capital, including an initial $5 million from Patrick Chung of Xfund and New Enterprise Associates, followed by investments from Sequoia Capital and Y Combinator. Loopt bought geolocation data from cellular providers to let users see friends' real-time locations. The board twice attempted to remove Altman as CEO, but his supporters defended him. In March 2012, after Loopt failed to gain traction, it was acquired by Green Dot Corporation for $43.4 million.

### Y Combinator

In 2011, Altman became a part-time partner at Y Combinator. In February 2014, he became president, replacing co-founder Paul Graham, who had been his mentor. Altman aimed to expand YC to fund 1,000 new companies per year and focus on "hard technology" startups. In October 2015, he helped expand YC's scope. In September 2016, his role grew to president of YC Group. By 2018, his OpenAI involvement reduced his presence at YC, and partners complained he used his role for investment priority. Graham said Altman agreed to leave but resisted. In March 2019, Altman and YC claimed he transitioned to chairman, but Graham stated Altman was removed due to partners' mistrust.

### Investor

As of June 2024, Altman's portfolio includes stakes in over 400 companies, valued at around $2.8 billion. Some investments intersect with OpenAI's business, raising conflict-of-interest questions; OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor said Altman has been transparent.

In April 2012, Altman co-founded Hydrazine Capital with his brother Jack. The initial $21 million fund included part of his Loopt proceeds, but most came from Peter Thiel. Altman invested 75% in YC companies. In 2023, Hydrazine's fourth fund had the University of Michigan endowment as its only outside investor. Altman debuted on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in March 2024 with an estimated net worth of $2 billion. He attended the Bilderberg Meeting in 2016, 2022, and 2023.

#### Biotech and Other Investments

Altman invested in Humane (wearable AI device), Retro Biosciences (longevity research), Boom Technology (supersonic airliners), Cruise (self-driving cars, later acquired by General Motors), and Helion Energy (fusion research). During the COVID-19 pandemic, he helped fund Project Covalence with TrialSpark for clinical trials. In March 2023, he provided capital to startups during the Silicon Valley Bank run. He also invested in charter city projects Próspera and Praxis, associated with the Network State movement.

#### Reddit

For eight days in 2014, Altman was CEO of Reddit after Yishan Wong resigned. On July 10, 2015, he announced Steve Huffman's return as CEO. He remained on the board until 2022. Altman invested in Reddit funding rounds in 2014, 2015, and 2021. Before Reddit's 2024 IPO, he was its third-largest shareholder with about 9% ownership.

#### Worldcoin

In 2019, Altman co-founded Tools For Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency and identity project. Worldcoin aims to provide a global digital identity and financial network using iris scanning for verification. The project has faced regulatory scrutiny in several countries over privacy and data collection concerns.

## OpenAI and ChatGPT

Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a non-profit AI research organization. In 2019, he became CEO, transitioning it to a capped-profit model to attract investment. Under his leadership, OpenAI developed [transformer-based](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/transformer) models, including GPT-3 and GPT-4. In November 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a [large language model](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/large-language-model) chatbot that became one of the fastest-growing consumer applications in history, sparking the [generative AI](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/generative-ai) boom.

In November 2023, OpenAI's board ousted Altman, citing a lack of "consistent candor." The move triggered backlash from employees and investors, leading to his reinstatement five days later and a new board. The incident highlighted tensions between AI safety concerns and commercial interests.

## Legacy and Impact

Altman is a key figure in the [AI](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-intelligence) industry, advocating for responsible AI development while pushing for rapid innovation. His leadership at OpenAI has influenced the direction of [machine learning](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/machine-learning) and [deep learning](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/deep-learning) research. He has also been a vocal proponent of AI regulation and safety, though critics question his approach. His investments and roles have made him a central figure in tech entrepreneurship and AI policy debates.

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Source: https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/sam-altman-3
License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
Last updated: 2026-10-07T16:39:59.632546+00:00