OpenAI considered merger with Anthropic after firing Altman: Ex-Chief Scientist
In a deposition, Ex-OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever revealed that OpenAI's board member Helen Toner was contacted by Anthropic to explore a potential merger, a day after Sam Altman's abrupt ouster in November 2023. The merger talks ultimately fell through due to "practical obstacles". This was brought to light by Elon Musk in a recent online tussle with Altman.