Emmett Shear, Interim CEO of OpenAI Post-Firing of Sam Altman

Emmett Shear, interim chief executive officer (CEO) of OpenAI. (photo: x @kimanhlethi)

JAKARTA - OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, has appointed former Twitch boss, Emmett Shear, as interim chief executive officer (CEO) following the dismissal of former CEO Sam Altman, which rocked the technology industry.

Shear, who was part of startup accelerator Y Combinator's first cohort alongside Altman, is known as a vocal advocate for safety in artificial intelligence development.

On  Monday, November 20, Shear shared plans for next steps at OpenAI. He said he would look to reform the startup's management team and hire independent investigators to probe Altman's departure.

Some facts about Emmett Shear:

• Shear, 40, stepped down as CEO of Amazon.com-owned Twitch  this March after more than 16 years at the live video streaming platform.

• The platform was founded by Shear as Justin.tv in 2006, before being renamed Twitch in 2011. The platform quickly gained attention in the gaming community and was acquired by Amazon for nearly US$ 1 billion (Rp. 15.4 trillion) in 2014.

• Shear has worked as a partner at Y Combinator for the past seven months, advising startups on everything from fundraising strategies to technical approaches.

• Shear, who grew up in Seattle, has a bachelor's degree in computer science from Yale University.

• In his LinkedIn recommendation, Twitch founder Justin Kan said, "Emmett is a great co-founder: hard working, uncomplaining, and the smartest person I know."