Elon Musk and Investors Offer $97.4 Billion for Control of OpenAI.
In a bold move that has sent shockwaves through the tech industry, Elon Musk and a consortium of investors have made an unsolicited bid of $97.4 billion to acquire the nonprofit that controls OpenAI. The bid, submitted on Monday, February 10, 2025, aims to revert OpenAI back to its original charitable mission as a nonprofit research lab. This offer comes amidst an ongoing legal dispute between Musk and OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, over the company’s direction.
The group of investors backing Musk includes prominent names such as Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, Vy Capital, and 8VC, a venture firm led by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. Ari Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, is also supporting the offer through his investment fund. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, has been vocal about his belief that the company has strayed from its original mission of benefiting the public good.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman quickly rejected the offer on Musk’s social platform X, saying, “No thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want,” referencing Musk’s purchase of Twitter in 2022. The rejection highlights the ongoing tension between Musk and Altman, who have been at odds over the company’s transition to a for-profit model.
The bid has significant implications for the future of OpenAI and the broader AI industry. OpenAI, known for developing advanced AI models like ChatGPT, has been at the forefront of the AI revolution. The company’s for-profit subsidiary, OpenAI LP, has raised billions from investors, including Microsoft, to support its research and development efforts. Altman is currently in the process of turning the subsidiary into a traditional company and spinning out the nonprofit, which would own equity in the new for-profit entity.
Musk’s bid is seen as an attempt to regain control over OpenAI and steer it back towards its original mission. His AI company, xAI, is focused on building large language models that prioritize objective truth over political correctness. This approach contrasts with OpenAI’s current focus on developing frontier models that achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI), or AI systems capable of performing economically valuable tasks better than humans.
As the tech industry watches closely, the outcome of this bid could shape the future of AI development and the role of nonprofits in the sector. The legal battle between Musk and OpenAI is likely to continue, with significant implications for the governance and direction of one of the most influential AI companies in the world.
