Sam Altman Criticizes Banking Culture at Internapalooza Conference

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, told attendees at the Internapalooza conference that the prospect of having worked at Goldman Sachs "sounds unbelievably terrible now." Altman revealed he previously declined an internship offer from the bank, stating he had been "peer pressured and tricked" into accepting the role before choosing to focus on his startup, Loopt.

Altman criticized the hierarchical nature of banking and argued that young professionals often put too much effort into "trying to get taken seriously." He suggested that talent can achieve more by simply "doing stuff" and advocated for the San Francisco Bay Area as a superior professional environment compared to New York.

While OpenAI is expanding its headcount toward 8,000 and implementing some corporate structures to prevent organizational failure, Altman and President Greg Brockman are attempting to limit bureaucracy. The two maintain a direct email line for staff to report bottlenecks, as Altman warned that abandoning startup instincts can turn a firm into a "sclerotic, horrible, lumbering big company."