OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Thursday married his longtime boyfriend Oliver Mulherin.
The news set off a wave of posts on social media, with many speculating if the images from Altman and Mulherin’s wedding were AI-generated (ironic, right?), many were just happy for the couple, and then there were a number of users who found out for the first time that Sam Altman is gay.
But chances are that you are finding about Altman’s sexual orientation because he has announced his marriage.
Or in other words, he lives in an era where different sexual orientations are no longer a topic of taboo where finding love, even marriage, is not an oddity.
But Altman is not the only openly gay tech leader in Silicon Valley, even though not all of them have been lucky enough to find the love of their life and get into the bliss of marriage.
So, apart from Sam Altman, who else? Let’s look at the tech leaders who are openly gay and who have — by coming out — have also done their bit to make the world a better, more accommodating, place for LGBTQ people.
At the age of 17 during high school, Sam Altman came out as gay, when he addressed objections from fellow students regarding a National Coming Out Day speaker.
Even otherwise, Altman has been fairly open about his sexual orientation, publicly acknowledging that he is gay.
During an interview in 2023, Altman attributed his journey of self-realisation to AOL chat rooms and owning a Mac.
Prior to being in a relationship with Mulherin, Altman was romantically linked with Nick Sivo, his co-founder at Loopt. The duo, who jointly established the American geolocation software company, remained together for a span of nine years.
Following the sale of the company in 2012, the two broke up. Altman has openly discussed his former romantic involvement with Sivo.
Even with Oliver Mulherin, while keeping the relationship private, Altman has spoken about dating Mulherin on several occasions. In an interview with New York Magazine in September 2023, Sam Altman revealed that he wanted to have kids with Mulherin soon.
The two also made a very public appearance at the state dinner in the White House that was hosted by US President Joe Biden during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.
