One day after the board removed Sam Altman as CEO, investors in OpenAI are pressing for his reinstatement, according to reports quoting information from sources with knowledge of the situation.

Several of OpenAI’s leading supporters, including Microsoft, Tiger Global, and venture capital company Thrive Capital, are involved in an attempt to have Altman reinstated, according to an anonymous source citing confidential negotiations.

Altman has also been contacted by Sequoia Capital, a person with knowledge of the situation told the media. According to the source, Sequoia backs Altman and former OpenAI president Greg Brockman in their future endeavours, whether it’s going back to OpenAI or starting a new business.

According to the source, Sequoia also told Microsoft that it would support efforts to get Altman and Brockman back.

The discussions to bring Altman back were first covered by The Verge. According to the article, which cited a source, Altman would like to see improvements made to governance but is “ambivalent” about coming back. There were no comments on the issue from Altman, Thrive and Microsoft.

Silicon Valley was rocked by OpenAI’s late-Friday revelation that it was ousting Altman and temporarily substituting him with chief technical officer Mira Murati. After releasing its ChatGPT chatbot last year and igniting a wave of investment in the generative artificial intelligence market, OpenAI has become the world’s most sought-after startup.

As recently as last month, there were apparently discussions about the corporation selling employee shares for a $86 billion valuation.

Microsoft was taken aback by the news, despite having made billion-dollar investments in OpenAI and maintaining a strong technological cooperation with the company. Along with Altman’s dismissal, the business declared that chairman Brockman would stay on as president but removed him from his leadership role on the board. Brockman announced his resignation later that day.

(Adapted from CNBC.com)