Elon Musk is leading a consortium of investors offering $97.4 billion to acquire the nonprofit organization that controls OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Musk’s bid, which includes his AI startup xAI, Baron Capital Group, and Emanuel Capital among others, is aimed at halting OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit entity.
Musk and Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, co-founded the company in 2015. However, tensions have arisen between the two as OpenAI moves toward a for-profit structure, which Musk argues contradicts its original mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity.
Musk’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, submitted the bid to OpenAI’s board of directors on February 10. In response, Altman joked on Musk’s platform X (formerly Twitter) that he would purchase Twitter for $9.74 billion if Musk was interested.
Musk’s bid follows a legal dispute with Altman, who has been seeking to restructure OpenAI in a way that could attract the capital needed for AI development. OpenAI has also invested significantly in AI infrastructure through a joint venture with SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX.
The outcome of the bid could have significant implications for the future of OpenAI and its AI projects.
