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World desk2 min

OpenAI Reportedly Explored a Merger With Anthropic During Its 2023 Crisis

During OpenAI’s November 2023 leadership crisis, its board reportedly approached Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about taking the CEO job and a possible merger. Reuters said he declined both.

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OpenAI’s board reportedly approached Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in November 2023 about taking over as OpenAI chief executive and potentially combining the two companies. Reuters reported that Amodei declined both. The accounts describe a private proposal during OpenAI’s leadership turmoil—not an agreed deal or a completed merger.

What OpenAI reportedly proposed

After OpenAI’s board removed Sam Altman in November 2023, it approached Amodei, Anthropic’s co-founder and CEO, about replacing him. The proposal reportedly linked the leadership role with the possibility of a merger between the companies.

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Reuters reported on November 16, 2023, citing two people briefed on the matter, that Amodei declined both the CEO role and the merger approach. Its account stated: “Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei declined on both fronts, the people said.” That sentence conveys what Reuters’ unnamed sources reported; it is not a direct quote from Amodei. Reuters’ account, republished by Investing.com.

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The Information reported on November 20 that the board’s merger approach was part of its effort to persuade Amodei to lead OpenAI, citing a person with direct knowledge. Ars Technica’s November 21 coverage likewise described the merger possibility as connected to recruiting him as CEO. The Information’s report; Ars Technica’s coverage.

Why the approach came during a leadership crisis

The outreach took place amid a rapidly unfolding governance crisis at OpenAI. Altman’s removal prompted conflict involving the nonprofit board, senior management, employees and outside investors, as Axios described at the time. That context helps explain why the board was considering leadership alternatives; it does not establish the private motives of individual board members or prove that a merger was the board’s sole objective. Axios’ November 20, 2023 account.

Anthropic had been founded by former OpenAI staff, and the companies had different governance structures, according to TIME’s 2024 retrospective. That background helps explain why the idea involved two organizations with a shared history but distinct structures. It does not reveal what a combined company would have looked like. TIME’s May 2024 retrospective.

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What the reports do—and do not—establish

The contemporaneous accounts support describing this as a reported approach or proposal. They do not document a completed transaction, an agreement between the companies, or a merger that was close to closing.

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The reports reviewed do not disclose an offer letter, term sheet, price, ownership split, financing plan, merger structure or detailed governance arrangement for a combined company. Nor do they provide a full account of internal deliberations. Without those details, claims about specific terms or how the merged organization would have operated would be speculation.

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