Elon Musk and a group of investors have made a $97.4 billion offer to acquire OpenAI's controlling non-profit organization. The bid comes amid growing tensions between Musk and OpenAI's current leadership.

Marc Toberoff, Musk's attorney, confirmed the bid's submission to OpenAI's board, stating their intention to return the company to its original open-source, safety-focused mission. The offer is backed by Musk's AI company xAI and several prominent investors, including Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, Vy Capital, 8VC, and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel.

OpenAI's journey began in 2015 as a non-profit research company, founded by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Ilya Sutskever, and Greg Brockman. Musk initially contributed $1 billion but left the board in 2018 to avoid conflicts with Tesla's AI initiatives.

The timing of Musk's offer coincides with Altman's plans to transform OpenAI into a for-profit entity and launch a $500 billion AI infrastructure project called Stargate, in partnership with Oracle and SoftBank. This initiative, announced by President Trump in January 2025, drew immediate criticism from Musk.

Sam Altman quickly rejected the buyout offer on X/Twitter, countering with a $9.74 billion offer to purchase Twitter instead. He assured OpenAI employees that the company's structure prevents any individual from taking control, describing Musk's offer as an attempt to undermine their progress.

Recent documents revealed that Musk had previously supported OpenAI's transition to a for-profit model but withdrew when he couldn't secure leadership of the new entity. Through his lawyer, Musk's investor group has committed to matching or exceeding any competing bids, emphasizing the importance of fair compensation for the charity's control over "the most transformative technology of our time."

Related Articles

Previous Articles