
Sam Altman served as the president of Y Combinator from 2014 to 2019. He played a significant role in the growth and development of the startup accelerator, and his tenure saw the expansion of Y Combinator to fund a more diverse range of companies, including those in hard technology sectors.

Microsoft left OpenAI's board because they saw significant progress in the company and felt confident in its direction, no longer believing their observer seat was necessary6. This decision came amid increasing scrutiny from antitrust regulators over their relationship with AI startups.