Sam Altman is returning to OpenAI as its chief executive, the high-profile AI startup said Wednesday, capping an intense five days of discussions, debates and convincing following the sudden dismissal of Altman last week from the startup he co-founded.

OpenAI, which is the most valuable U.S. startup, said it has reached an “agreement in principle” for Altman’s return. The startup is also reforming its board, eliminating several members who faced intense scrutiny for their decision last week.

Former Salesforce chief executive Bret Taylor, former US Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers, and Quora founder Adam D’Angelo will be part of the new board at the AI startup, it said. Taylor will serve as the chair of the board, the startup said.

Microsoft, which owns about 49% of OpenAI, was taken aback by OpenAI’s decision last week and rushed to hire Altman to lead a new AI group at the software conglomerate. Greg Brockman, former President of OpenAI, and countless other members of the startup resigned in protest of the earlier OpenAI board’s decision.

“I love OpenAI, and everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. when I decided to join Microsoft on Sunday evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. With the new board and with Satya’s support, I’m looking forward to returning to OpenAI, and building on our strong partnership with Microsoft,” Altman said in a statement posted on X.

Microsoft chief Satya Nadella, who also expressed disappointment in OpenAI board’s decision last week and pledged to ensure that Microsoft is never “surprised” again, said Wednesday that he was encouraged by today’s changes to the OpenAI board.

“We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance. Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring OAI continues to thrive and build on its mission. We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners.”

OpenAI’s earlier board — which included its chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner — faced intense public scrutiny for their abrupt decision, for which they never offered a comprehensive explanation. Growing frustrated with the earlier OpenAI board, several OpenAI investors began exploring options to sue the board members, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Emmett Shear, the former Twitch chief executive who was appointed as interim leader of OpenAI on Sunday, said he was pleased with OpenAI’s new decision. “Coming into OpenAI, I wasn’t sure what the right path would be. This was the pathway that maximized safety alongside doing right by all stakeholders involved. I’m glad to have been a part of the solution,” he posted on X.

Some entrepreneurs in the renewable energy sector on Wednesday called for tax waivers on renewable energy products in order to increase access and encourage more people to use green alternatives.

The entrepreneurs stated this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan while speaking on the importance of manpower development in renewable energy in Nigeria.

The Chief Executive Officer of Gacht Solar, Adekunle Audu, said training and retraining were essential to the uptake of renewable energy in Nigeria, especially the off-grid solar technology.

Audu commended Nexgen Energy for organising training for small and medium entrepreneurs to ensure renewable energy has wider acceptance through excellent service delivery.

According to him, the training opened him to new opportunities and networking which have been aiding his venture.

“The Customs duties we pay on our goods when we import (them) is so much and since power is one of the problems in Nigeria, if the government can at least do a tax waiver on some of our products it will really go a long way in helping the power sector,” Audu said.

Also, the Managing Director of Goldmine Technosolar Company, Mr John Olateju, said knowledge of renewable energy products and installation techniques were salient skills essentials for distributors of renewable energy.

He said this was due to constant technological advancement.

According to him, the Techfine training he attended was a good one which created networking among dealers, installers and stakeholders in the industry.

“If such a programme is organised from time to time, it will help installers to operate efficiently and have a voice which will be to the betterment of the nation at large,” Olateju said.

He said government could do a lot to make the renewable energy sector viable, such as encouraging end-users to take to renewable energy through various incentives.

Olateju said such a strategy would make the products affordable and available with the option of loan repayments to uptake renewable energy spread over five to 10 years.

“Considering the economy of this country, the government should be abler to do more than it is already doing, so that the price of renewable energy can be affordable to Nigerians,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of Starkbase Consult, Mr Abiodun Oluborode, said manpower development through training and re-training helps people to acquire knowledge.

He said such knowledge would translate to growth and development, especially for start-up businesses.

Oluborode said he had acquired training from Nexgen Energy on how to calculate load on solar energy for installation for clients which had to improve service delivery.

He pointed out that this was something he did not know prior to the training.

Oluborode said most entrepreneurs who want to venture into the renewable energy business had been developing cold feet due to high taxes on the product.

He said this was in spite of the opportunities created by incessant power outages.

“The government should reduce tax one way or the other and encourage people to go into solar. You can see what is happening. Businesses are going down due to lack of power supply from the national grid.

“It should also encourage start-up’s’ businesses by providing them grants, especially for those who are into solar as it is being done for those in the agriculture sector.

”This is because I have a lot of people who want to go into the business, but they do not have the capital,” Oluborode said.

Also, a Sales Representative of Greenlife Power System, Mr Ayo Ogundiya, said government should provide an enabling environment for renewable energy operators.

He added that there were a lot of opportunities in renewable energy in Nigeria and, if harnessed, they can thrive and contribute to the economy of the nation.