OpenAI has strongly rejected a $97.4 billion takeover offer from a group of investors headed by billionaire Elon Musk, declaring that the artificial intelligence firm is not up for sale. The board made it clear that any other offers would not be taken seriously.
Elon Musk, the co-founder of OpenAI who stepped down, has been making attempts to stall the company’s move to go for-profit. OpenAI also wants more financing to remain relevant in the artificial intelligence sector.
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OpenAI Rejects the Offer
the company took it on X, attributed to OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor and wrote, “OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has voted unanimously against Mr. Musk’s latest bid to upset his rival. Any possible restructuring of OpenAI will make our nonprofit and its mission to have AGI benefit all of humanity even stronger.”
Musk’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, replied by accusing OpenAI of putting its for-profit arm up for sale, insisting the action would “benefit its certain board members instead of the charity.”
OpenAI had already announced in December that it would overhaul its setup to form a public benefit corporation. The aim was to raise capital above initial expectations and eliminate the constraints imposed by its nonprofit parent entity.
‘Not for Sale’
Altman dismissed the consortium’s bid with a ‘no thank you’ post on X, prompting Musk to respond with ‘swindler’. Later, in an interview with Axios, Altman reiterated that OpenAI was not up for sale.
Musk’s legal team stated in a court filing that the consortium, which includes his AI startup xAI, would withdraw its bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit arm if the company abandoned its plans to become a for-profit entity.
“Two days ago, you made a filing in court inserting new material conditions into the proposal. Because of that filing, it is now clear that your clients’ highly publicized ‘bid’ is really not a bid at all,” the OpenAI board wrote in a letter signed by company attorney William Savitt to Toberoff.
The investors behind Musk are investors like Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, and Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel.
Musk and Altman have been on the opposite sides for a long time. Following Musk’s exit in 2019, OpenAI created a for-profit subsidiary that raised billions in funding. Musk has since claimed that the company deviated from its original purpose by focusing more on profit than public interest.
In August last year, Musk sued Altman, OpenAI, and its major investor, Microsoft, for a breach of contract. In November, he requested an injunction to prevent OpenAI from switching to a for-profit status.
