OpenAI, a prominent figure in the AI landscape, faced a storm of internal strife as its board sought to replace CEO Sam Altman and explore merging with rival Anthropic, as per sources familiar with the situation.
Reports emerged that Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, rebuffed the propositions from OpenAI’s board, declining the offer to replace Altman and rejecting the prospect of merging the two influential AI startups.
The saga continued with OpenAI’s board silently maneuvering in the background, declining to comment on the developments while one of its members, Adam D’Angelo, remained unresponsive to inquiries.
In the midst of this turbulence, the board extended an offer to former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear to step in as the interim chief, a role he accepted. Meanwhile, Altman found a new chapter with Microsoft, joining forces with other key figures from OpenAI. However, this move triggered a mass exodus threat from nearly all of OpenAI’s substantial workforce, including a board executive.
The fracture within OpenAI seemed to stem from disagreements about the direction of AI development and governance. Anthropic’s co-founders, who were once part of OpenAI until 2020, parted ways due to these differences, paving the way for their venture, which garnered investments from tech giants like Google and Amazon.com.
Amidst this backdrop, Anthropic’s AI models, specifically the Claude AI series, emerged as contenders in the AI landscape, challenging the dominance of OpenAI’s renowned GPT series.
As tensions escalate and the narrative unfolds, the future of both OpenAI and Anthropic remains uncertain, leaving the tech world on the edge, anticipating the next move in this evolving saga.
Source: Reuters
