Larry Summers resigns from OpenAI board after release of emails with Epstein

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said Wednesday that he will resign from the board of OpenAI after the release of emails between him and the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Summers had announced Monday that he would be stepping back from all public commitments, but it was not immediately clear whether that included his position at the artificial intelligence startup.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress,” Summers said in a statement to CNBC. 

OpenAI’s board told CNBC it respects Summers’ decision to resign.

“We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board,” the OpenAI board of directors said in a statement.

Details of Summers’ correspondence with Epstein were made public last week after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released more than 20,000 documents it obtained pursuant to a subpoena from Epstein’s estate. Summers has faced intense scrutiny following the release of those files.

Summers joined OpenAI’s board in 2023 during a turbulent period for the startup. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was briefly ousted from the company, though he returned to the chief executive role days later. 

In the wake of “The Blip,” as some OpenAI employees call it, Summers was appointed to the board alongside Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce, and Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, who was the only member of OpenAI’s previous board who still held a seat.

Axios was first to report about Summers’ resignation from the board.

President Donald Trump on Friday asked the Department of Justice to investigate the relationship between Epstein and Summers, as well as Epstein’s ties to former President Bill Clinton, JPMorgan Chase and billionaire tech investor Reid Hoffman. Trump has been facing renewed pressure over his own past friendship with Epstein.

Summers is a former president of Harvard University, and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts told CNN on Monday that the university should sever ties with him. He announced his intention to step back from his public commitments later that day, but said he will continue to fulfill his teaching obligations at Harvard.

“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Summers said in a statement to CNBC on Monday.

Congress on Tuesday agreed to pass a bipartisan bill ordering the Department of Justice to release all of its files on Epstein, clearing the path for Trump to sign it into law.

WATCH: House overwhelmingly votes to release more Epstein investigation files, sends bill to Senate