Apart from offering him the top role, the board of directors also sought to discuss a potential merger between the two artificial intelligence (AI)-focussed startups, Reuters reported, citing sources who are privy to the development.

Amodei declined both the offers, the sources further told the news agency.

OpenAI and Anthropic did not immediately respond to the reports.

Following Altman’s ouster on November 17, the board had appointed Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, as the interim CEO. She was replaced with ex-Twitch chief executive Emmett Shear on November 19.

A day later, over 500 OpenAI employees threatened to resign en masse if the company’s board of directors failed to step down.

Citing a letter it has obtained, CNN reported that 505 employees have warned the company that they would switch over to the new Microsoft AI team, whose operations would be headed by Altman and OpenAI’s former president Greg Brockman.

Brockman quit OpenAI on November 17, hours after Altman was removed by the board.

“We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees,” the news channel quoted the letter as saying. “Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI,” it added.

The letter has also been reportedly signed by Ilya Sutskever, the company’s chief scientist, who has expressed “deep regret” over playing a role in the ouster of Altman.

Earlier on November 20, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Altman and Brockman, along with their colleagues, would be joining the tech giant.

“We’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success,” Nadella tweeted.

The Microsoft CEO, however, clarified that the company would continue to back OpenAI.

“We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners,” he added.

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Updated: 21 Nov 2023, 11:29 PM IST