OpenAI’s convoluted corporate structure was designed to protect its board of directors from normal commercial pressures and ensure that the advanced artificial intelligence the company was building would always serve humanity.

Instead, the unusual arrangement tipped off a crisis this weekend that threatened to tear apart the company at the forefront of the global race over generative AI.

The news on Friday that four members of the company’s board had sacked chief executive Sam Altman shocked the tech world. Just minutes later, with no clear information about what had happened, one of the company’s investors claimed that this was how OpenAI was meant to operate — even if the repercussions might be devastating to a company whose value has soared this year to more than $80bn.