Ex-OpenAI Founder Deposition is WILD

A recently unsealed deposition from ex-OpenAI founder Ilya Sutskever reveals a long-standing plot to oust Sam Altman, board inexperience, and a secret merger attempt by Anthropic during the leadership crisis.

• Ilya Sutskever actively plotted Sam Altman's removal due to alleged patterns of deceit and executive undermining.

• The board's inexperience and Helen Toner's radical views contributed to the chaotic handling of Altman's ouster.

• Anthropic secretly attempted to merge with OpenAI and take over leadership during the crisis.

Ilya Sutskever's deposition in the Elon Musk vs. Sam Altman lawsuit provides a detailed account of the events leading to Altman's temporary firing from OpenAI. Sutskever harbored deep dissatisfaction with Altman's leadership, accusing him of lying and undermining executives, and worked with specific board members to gather evidence for his removal. The deposition also exposes a failed attempt by Anthropic to merge with OpenAI during the chaos, highlighting the intense political and power struggles within the company.

Plot to Oust Sam Altman

• 00:02:12 Ilya Sutskever compiled a 52-page memo in preparation for attempting to fire Sam Altman, citing Altman's 'consistent pattern of lying, undermining his execs and pitting his execs against one another.' This memo was prepared at the request of independent board members, likely Adam D'Angelo, Helen Toner, and Tasha McCauley, who provided screenshots as evidence of Altman's poor leadership. Sutskever believed Altman needed to be terminated and used a disappearing email to send the memo, fearing Altman would make discussions 'disappear' if he found out.

Board Dynamics and Inexperience

• 00:11:00 The process of removing Sam Altman was described as 'rushed' and 'fumbled' due to the board's inexperience in board matters, according to Ilya Sutskever. Board members like Helen Toner reportedly learned about major product launches like ChatGPT from Twitter and criticized OpenAI while still serving on its board. Toner even believed that if Altman's departure destroyed OpenAI, it would still align with the company's mission, a view Sutskever disagreed with.

Sam Altman's Character

• 00:10:19 Ilya Sutskever characterized Sam Altman as extremely adept at the 'political nature of power seeking' and willing to use 'sharp elbows' to maintain control. Accusations against Altman, primarily sourced from Mira Murati, included creating chaos, starting new projects, pitting people against each other at Y Combinator, and similar behaviors at Stripe for Greg Brockman. Altman was also faulted for indecision, specifically by not taking a firm stance on Dario Amodei's demand to lead all research at OpenAI and fire Greg Brockman.

Anthropic Merger Attempt

• 00:20:31 During the period of turmoil following Sam Altman's firing, Anthropic, co-founded by former OpenAI employee Dario Amodei, attempted to either acquire or merge with OpenAI. This proposal was initiated either by Helen Toner reaching out to Anthropic or vice versa, with Anthropic reportedly excited about the prospect of taking over OpenAI's leadership. Ilya Sutskever was strongly against this merger, while other board members were reportedly more supportive.