In a recent Forbes cover story titled "The AI Alchemist: Why Sam Altman Is Preparing for the Biggest Business Bet in History," details of Sam Altman's background are revisited. He grew up in St. Louis, far from Silicon Valley, and was a self-described nerd, obsessed from a young age with science, energy, and artificial intelligence. "I've had the same few ideas my whole life," he stated, ideas that have "remained unchanged since I was about 18 years old." In 2003, Altman entered Stanford University intending to study AI, a path that contrasted with the prevailing Web 2.0 trend of the era. During his sophomore year, he won a competition with a business plan that eventually became his first startup, Loopt, a mobile app for sharing locations with friends. It was around this time he first learned about Y Combinator. He immediately took a red-eye flight to Boston to interview with founder Paul Graham. "I thought, this must be what Bill Gates is like," Graham recalled of their first meeting. Graham was so impressed that when he stepped back in 2014, he chose the 28-year-old Altman to lead Y Combinator. The reason? "Sam always gets what he wants," Graham said, "so if the only way for Sam to succeed was for YC to succeed, then YC was definitely going to succeed." While involved in many YC projects, Altman became particularly drawn to a side project: an AI research lab named OpenAI. Founded as a non-profit in 2015, OpenAI's goal was to build AGI—Artificial General Intelligence, AI capable of "thinking" like a human. Altman personally recruited Stripe's then-CTO Greg Brockman and AI pioneer Ilya Sutskever, known for groundbreaking work in neural networks, as co-founders. He also successfully convinced his former idol, Elon Musk, to contribute $38 million in support. Altman soon became almost obsessively dedicated to OpenAI, causing Y Combinator to fade as the primary focus Graham had envisioned. In 2019, Graham and YC co-founder Jessica Livingston were shocked by a press release announcing Altman as CEO of OpenAI's new for-profit subsidiary. Livingston demanded he either recommit fully to YC or resign. Altman now admits, "I deserve criticism for how I handled that. When I realized OpenAI could succeed and I was trying to lead both, I knew in my heart: 'I could pretend to care about YC just as much, but OpenAI is my mission. I have to do this.'" This was not the first time Altman's prioritization caused conflict with colleagues. Just days before Thanksgiving in 2023, he was fired by OpenAI's non-profit board for allegedly not being "consistently candid." The "coup" was led by co-founder Sutskever, who told the board that "Sam habitually lies" and "creates chaos, launches numerous new projects, and manipulates relationships" to achieve his goals. Yet, just five days later, Altman was reinstated in one of Silicon Valley's most dramatic corporate sagas. The episode involved OpenAI employees collectively threatening to resign if he wasn't brought back, Microsoft's sudden intervention with a job offer, and rumors of a new AI model so powerful it frightened those aware of it. The event was accompanied by numerous accusations of duplicity and recklessness, creating a public uproar. A subsequent board investigation ultimately concluded that Altman was indeed the right leader for OpenAI, but the turmoil left an indelible mark on his reputation. Compounding matters, three years earlier, OpenAI experienced another internal power struggle. A group of key employees, including siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, departed to found competitor Anthropic, which focuses on AI safety. Anthropic is now valued at approximately $350 billion with estimated 2025 revenues of around $4.5 billion, positioning it as one of OpenAI's strongest rivals. Even more contentious than the Anthropic departure was OpenAI's decision to restructure its architecture and add a for-profit arm. This move allowed OpenAI to operate like a conventional company and accept external investment, including a crucial $13 billion from Microsoft starting in 2019. Elon Musk strongly opposed this shift, leading him to exit the project entirely without holding any stake in the for-profit entity. Allegations of a feud persist. In legal filings, Musk claimed he left because OpenAI abandoned its original mission of "benefiting humanity" in favor of profit maximization. OpenAI countered that Musk departed because he was not granted control of the for-profit entity. Musk soon launched his own competitor, xAI, in 2023, now valued at $250 billion. The lawsuit is expected to go to trial this spring. "I didn't want to spend so much time on this, but I feel very confident in our position," Altman said. Although Altman believes the for-profit structure was essential for OpenAI's growth, it undoubtedly enhanced his own influence and power. Curiously, however, it did not increase his personal wealth, a point that baffles critics. Altman held no direct stake in OpenAI at its founding, and even when equity was available during the restructuring, he still holds none. Why? "I don't know. I don't have a perfect answer," he said. "Maybe I should have taken some, so I'd never have to answer this question again." He added that his lack of equity is "so confusing that it's become a breeding ground for conspiracy theories." This restructuring turned Altman's former idol, Musk, into an adversary. Musk subsequently launched Grok, a competitor to ChatGPT, through xAI. This AI model, which claims to "seek truth," has been mired in controversy for spreading false claims about "white genocide," referring to itself as "Mechanical Hitler," and generating疑似未成年人色情图片 (images suspected to be child sexual abuse material), for which the company later apologized. "I wish they would take a different approach. I think it's absurd that he spends so much time attacking us," Altman expressed dissatisfaction with Musk's accusations that OpenAI neglects safety. "They've had their own consistent troubles with these issues."