Musk’s offer may heighten his ongoing feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the company’s future direction.
A group headed by Elon Musk has proposed a $97.4bn acquisition of the nonprofit that oversees OpenAI, just months after Musk sued the AI firm to stop its shift toward a for-profit model.
Announced Monday, the bid could escalate tensions between Musk and Altman, as OpenAI stands central to the generative AI explosion.
Altman quickly replied on X: “No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”
The two are already locked in a lawsuit. Musk criticized a $500bn OpenAI initiative called Stargate, announced at the White House shortly after Trump’s return, claiming the backers lack the needed capital.
“OpenAI must return to its original mission — open-source and safety-first,” Musk declared in a press note. “We’ll ensure that happens.”
OpenAI, Musk, Musk’s lawyer Marc Toberoff, and Microsoft, which backs OpenAI, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The bid is reportedly backed by Musk’s firm xAI, and may lead to a merger with OpenAI if accepted, per The Wall Street Journal, which broke the news.
Even without antitrust concerns, such a massive deal would require Musk and his backers to raise substantial funding.
OpenAI was valued at $157bn in its most recent fundraising round last October, making it one of the top private tech firms globally. In January, Reuters reported SoftBank was in talks to lead a $40bn raise at a $300bn valuation.
Musk co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 but exited before it gained major momentum. He launched xAI in 2023 to compete in the growing AI sector.
OpenAI says it must convert to a for-profit to raise enough capital for cutting-edge AI development.
Musk’s lawsuit claims OpenAI betrayed its founding principles by shifting from its original nonprofit mission to chasing profits.
