A group of investors led by Elon Musk has made an offer of 97.4 billion US dollars to take control of AI developer OpenAI. The offer aims to return the company to its original principles as an open-source and security-focused organization. However, CEO Sam Altman rejected the offer with a sarcastic counteroffer.
The most important facts in brief
- Elon Musk and a group of investors are offering 97.4 billion US dollars for OpenAI.
- The aim is to turn OpenAI back into an open source and security-oriented organization.
- CEO Sam Altman responds with a mocking counter-offer.
- Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, but left the company in 2018.
Background to the offer
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has apparently set his sights on a new target. The Tesla CEO has submitted a purchase offer of 97.4 billion US dollars, as reported by Der Spiegel, among others. Musk, who co-founded the AI company in 2015, left the company in 2018 due to internal differences. Since then, OpenAI has evolved from a non-profit organization to a for-profit company, especially after the launch of the AI chatbot ChatGPT, which caused a worldwide sensation.
This development led to tensions between Musk and CEO Sam Altman. Musk repeatedly criticized the commercialization and emphasized the need to preserve the original charitable goals. In 2024, he filed a lawsuit claiming that the company had strayed from its original mission. The current USD 97.4 billion takeover offer, backed by Musk’s own AI company xAI and other investors, is intended to turn the company back into an open-source and safety-oriented organization.
Reaction from OpenAI and Sam Altman
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to the offer with a mocking comment on the X platform (formerly Twitter):
“No thanks, but we’d buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”
This response underscores the ongoing tensions between Musk and Altman. Altman has emphasized in the past that the transformation of OpenAI into a for-profit company is necessary to secure significant investment for the further development of AI technologies. Microsoft, among others, has invested billions in OpenAI.
Musk’s commitment to AI research
After leaving OpenAI, Musk founded the AI company xAI in 2023, which focuses on the development of safe and transparent AI systems. With the current takeover offer, Musk plans to merge xAI and OpenAI to work together on the development of advanced AI technologies. This plan reflects Musk’s continued interest and commitment to AI research.
