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Former U.S. treasury secretary Larry Summers is resigning from OpenAI’s board of directors, the ChatGPT maker and his office said Wednesday.
His departure comes after the release of emails showing he maintained a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein long after the financier pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl in 2008.
“Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI board of directors, and we respect his decision,” the board said in a statement.
“We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the board.”
The announcement arrived one day after Summers said he’s stepping back from public commitments.
“In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” Summers said in a separate statement issued by his spokesperson, Kelly Friendly.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company and look forward to following their progress.”
Summers, who is also a former president of Harvard University, joined the OpenAI board in November 2023, part of an effort to restore stability at the nonprofit and bring back Sam Altman as CEO after its previous board members fired Altman days earlier.
Epstein, who died by suicide several years ago, was a convicted sex offender infamous for his connections to wealthy and powerful people, making him a fixture of outrage and conspiracy theories about wrongdoing among American elites.
The U.S. Congress overwhelmingly agreed to pass a bill forcing the Justice Department to release its files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Senate also approved and President Donald Trump said he will sign the bill when it lands on his desk.