In a new revelation from the ongoing legal battle between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, deposition testimony by former OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever shows that OpenAI’s board explored merging with rival AI company Anthropic immediately after ousting CEO Sam Altman in November 2023—a potential consolidation that would have dramatically reshaped the artificial intelligence landscape.
The Anthropic Discussions
According to Sutskever’s deposition testimony, the merger discussions with Anthropic began with remarkable speed—just one day after Altman’s removal. On Saturday, November 18 2023, either board member Helen Toner reached out to Anthropic or the company reached out to her with a proposal for the two AI giants to merge, with Anthropic’s leadership taking control of the combined entity.
“They reached out with a proposal to be merged with OpenAI and take over its leadership,” Sutskever testified, describing calls between board members and Anthropic’s leadership team that included Dario and Daniela Amodei.
During a call with Anthropic’s executives, Sutskever recalled that the rival company expressed enthusiasm about the potential merger while also raising practical challenges that would need to be addressed. However, Sutskever himself was firmly opposed to the combination.
“I was very unhappy about it,” he testified, adding simply: “I really did not want OpenAI to merge with Anthropic.”
The other board members, however, appeared more receptive to the idea. “They were a lot more supportive, yes,” Sutskever said, noting that Helen Toner struck him as the most supportive of the merger proposal. He indicated that at minimum, no other board members were actively opposed to exploring the combination.
Ultimately, the merger discussions proved short-lived. Sutskever testified that Anthropic raised unspecified practical obstacles that prevented the proposal from advancing further, though he could not recall the specific nature of these challenges.
The November 2023 Coup
The events surrounding Altman’s removal began on Friday, November 17, 2023, when OpenAI’s board abruptly fired the CEO, citing a loss of confidence in his leadership and accusing him of not being “consistently candid” in communications with the board. The decision shocked the tech industry and OpenAI’s own employees.
The board that orchestrated Altman’s removal consisted of chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, and Adam D’Angelo, along with Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo. Sutskever, one of OpenAI’s co-founders and a legendary figure in deep learning, played a crucial role in the decision to remove Altman.
President Greg Brockman, another OpenAI co-founder, was simultaneously removed from the board though initially kept at the company. Upon learning of Altman’s firing, Brockman resigned in solidarity, posting on social media about his shock at the board’s actions.
In the immediate aftermath, the board appointed Mira Murati, OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer, as interim CEO. Murati, who had been instrumental in launching ChatGPT and overseeing much of OpenAI’s product development, found herself thrust into leadership during the company’s most tumultuous period.
The Reversal
The board’s consideration of an Anthropic merger proved moot as events rapidly overtook the discussions. Over the following days, OpenAI’s employees staged an unprecedented revolt, with more than 700 of the company’s approximately 770 employees signing a letter threatening to resign and join Altman at Microsoft unless the board reversed course.
Under intense pressure from employees, investors, and major partner Microsoft, the board’s position became untenable. Sutskever himself posted on social media that he regretted participating in the board’s actions. Within five days of his removal, Altman was reinstated as CEO on November 22, 2023, with a reconstituted board.
Brockman also returned to OpenAI, resuming his role as President. The original board members who orchestrated the ouster—except for D’Angelo—were replaced, including Toner, McCauley, and eventually Sutskever, who departed OpenAI in May 2024 to found his own AI company, Safe Superintelligence Inc.
The Anthropic Connection
The proposed merger carries particular irony given Anthropic’s origins. The AI safety-focused company was founded in 2021 by Dario and Daniela Amodei, both former OpenAI executives who departed amid concerns about the direction of AI development and safety priorities. The Amodeis led an exodus of roughly a dozen OpenAI researchers to establish Anthropic, positioning it as an organization more firmly committed to AI safety principles.
Anthropic has since become a major player in the generative AI space, developing the Claude family of large language models and securing significant backing from companies including Google and Amazon. The company has positioned itself as a more cautious alternative to OpenAI, emphasizing “constitutional AI” approaches designed to make AI systems safer and more aligned with human values.
Implications
The revelation that OpenAI’s board seriously explored merging with Anthropic adds another remarkable dimension to one of the most dramatic episodes in Silicon Valley history. Had the merger proceeded, it would have united two of the most prominent AI research organizations, both founded by former OpenAI personnel, and placed the Amodeis atop the combined entity that included the creators of ChatGPT.
The testimony also sheds light on the board dynamics during those chaotic November days, with Toner emerging as the most supportive of radical restructuring options. The speed with which the Anthropic discussions occurred—within 24 hours of Altman’s removal—suggests the board was actively seeking alternatives to prevent Altman’s return even as employee and investor pressure mounted.
For the ongoing Musk lawsuit, which centers on allegations that OpenAI has strayed from its original nonprofit mission, the testimony provides insight into the corporate governance tensions that have roiled the organization. The deposition forms part of the discovery process in Musk’s claims against Altman and OpenAI, though the company has vigorously disputed the lawsuit’s allegations.
As the AI industry continues its rapid evolution, the November 2023 coup attempt and its aftermath remain a defining moment—one that nearly resulted in a merger that would have fundamentally altered the competitive landscape of artificial intelligence development.
Here’s the relevant portion of the deposition in its entirety:
Question: Do you know whether a proposal was made around that time for OpenAI to merge with Anthropic?
Ilya Sutskever: I do know that.
Question: Tell me about that.
Ilya Sutskever: I don’t — I don’t know whether it was (then-OpenAI board member Helen Toner) Helen who reached out to Anthropic or whether Anthropic reached out to Helen. But they reached out with a proposal to be merged with OpenAI and take over its leadership.
Question: When was that?
Ilya Sutskever: On Saturday.
Question: Saturday, November 18th?
Ilya Sutskever: That must be the day.
Question: The day — was it short — shortly after the removal of Sam and Greg?
Ilya Sutskever: Yes. It was before — it was either on Saturday or on Sunday. It was not on Monday.
Question: And how did you hear about that?
Ilya Sutskever: Because there was a board call with Helen and the other board members where she told us about it. There has been a subsequent call with the leadership of Anthropic.
Question: And were you present for that call?
Ilya Sutskever: Yes.
Question: What do you recall from that conversation?
Ilya Sutskever: I recall Anthropic expressing their excitement about it and expressing the issue — the practical challenges that they would have with it.
Question: Who from Anthropic was on that call?
Ilya Sutskever: I recall Dario Amodei on the call and Daniela Amodei. There would be at least one other person that I don’t remember. Possibly more.
Question: And what was your response to that?
Ilya Sutskever: I was very unhappy about it.
Question: Why?
Ilya Sutskever: Because I really did not want OpenAI to merge with Anthropic.
Question: Why not?
Ilya Sutskever: I just didn’t want to.
Question: And what about the other board members? Were they supportive?
Ilya Sutskever: They were a lot more supportive, yes.
Question: Were all of them supportive?
Ilya Sutskever: I think — at the very least, none were unsupportive.
Question: Did anybody advocate for the merger?
Ilya Sutskever: I don’t remember definitively.
Question: Among the board members, who struck you as most supportive?
Ilya Sutskever: I would say my recollection is that Helen was the most supportive.
Question: And what happened with the proposal?
Ilya Sutskever: I believe — my recollection is that there were some practical obstacles that Anthropic has
raised, and so the proposal did not continue.
Question: Do you know what the practical obstacles were?
Ilya Sutskever: No.
Question: How long did those discussions with Anthropic continue?
Ilya Sutskever: Extremely briefly.