Last updated Nov 29, 2025
Information about the internal decisions and side deals around Sam Altman’s firing and reinstatement at OpenAI will emerge through multiple leaks over time.
it is just going to come out and leak after leak after leak.
Explanation

Chamath predicted that details about the internal decisions and side deals around Sam Altman’s firing and return to OpenAI would continue to emerge via “leak after leak after leak.”

That pattern has in fact occurred over the two years since the crisis:

  • New accounts of the board’s rationale and internal complaints: In December 2023 and afterwards, major outlets published inside accounts of the board’s decision based on confidential sources and internal documents, including reports that the board was influenced by complaints about Altman’s behavior and concerns over his candor and AI‑safety handling.(en.wikipedia.org)
  • Former board member Helen Toner’s later disclosures (May 2024): Months after the ouster, Toner publicly detailed previously undisclosed reasons for firing Altman, alleging he repeatedly misled the board about safety processes, failed to inform them of ChatGPT’s launch, and hid his ownership of the OpenAI Startup Fund—information that directly concerns internal decision‑making and conflicts of interest.(en.wikipedia.org)
  • Revelations about the Startup Fund “side deal”: In April 2024, Reuters reported that OpenAI restructured its $175 million Startup Fund to remove Altman’s ownership, following scrutiny that he had raised outside money and controlled the fund even as OpenAI had claimed he had no financial interest—clarifying a side arrangement that had not been fully transparent during the November 2023 turmoil.(reuters.com)
  • Leaked documents on NDAs and equity cancellation (May 2024): Reporting based on leaked internal documents and emails showed aggressive non‑disparagement and equity‑cancellation provisions for departing employees, and those leaks were cited as directly contradicting Altman’s public statements about being unaware of such terms.(en.wikipedia.org) These disclosures fed into broader questions about OpenAI’s internal governance and how dissent around leadership and safety could be constrained.
  • Further whistleblower‑driven disclosures: In July 2024, whistleblowers asked the SEC to investigate OpenAI’s NDAs, with the complaint and internal agreement language becoming public and adding more detail about how the company handled internal criticism and regulatory reporting in the wake of the governance crisis.(theguardian.com)

These stories appeared in multiple waves from late 2023 through mid‑2024, relied heavily on leaks, whistleblowers, or former insiders, and specifically illuminated internal board dynamics, conflicts of interest, and related governance arrangements tied to Altman’s firing and reinstatement. That matches Chamath’s prediction of ongoing “leak after leak” about what really happened, so the prediction is right.