OpenAI founder Sam Altman has broken his silence about the death of Suchir Balaji, an Indian-origin researcher and whistleblower, calling it “a great tragedy”.
During a tense interview with Tucker Carlson, Altman maintained that Balaji committed suicide, while Carlson insisted it was “definitely murder”.
Balaji, who worked at OpenAI for four years, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment in November 2024, weeks after accusing the company of copyright violations.
Police ruled his death a suicide, but his family has rejected this conclusion and alleged investigation lapses.
“He was like a friend of mine. This is someone that worked at OpenAI for a very long time. I was really shaken by this tragedy,”
Altman said. Elon Musk responded to the interview by posting “He was murdered” on social media.
