Elon Musk and a gaggle of traders have reportedly positioned a $97.4 billion bid to amass OpenAI’s nonprofit arm, escalating his ongoing dispute with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. As per a WSJ report, the proposal, submitted by Musk’s lawyer Marc Toberoff, challenges Altman’s efforts to transition OpenAI right into a for-profit entity and will considerably influence the corporate’s future path.
Musk’s AI firm, xAI, is main the $97.4 billion bid with help from key traders, together with Valor Fairness Companions, Baron Capital, Atreides Administration, Vy Capital, and 8VC, the enterprise agency co-founded by Palantir’s Joe Lonsdale. Hollywood govt Ari Emanuel can also be backing the deal by his funding fund.
Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 earlier than parting methods with the corporate, has been vocal about his disapproval of its shift in the direction of commercialisation. Following information of his $97.4 billion bid, Musk said, “It is time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused drive for good it as soon as was. We are going to make it possible for occurs.”
no thanks however we’ll purchase twitter for $9.74 billion if you need
— Sam Altman (@sama) February 10, 2025
In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took a jab at Musk on X (previously Twitter), dismissing the provide and jokingly suggesting, “No thanks, however we’ll purchase Twitter for $9.74 billion if you need,” tweaking Musk’s bid by shifting the decimal level.
Initially launched as a nonprofit, OpenAI created a for-profit subsidiary in 2019 to safe investments from main gamers like Microsoft. Altman now intends to separate the nonprofit entity whereas retaining an fairness stake within the newly structured firm. Musk’s $97.4 billion bid brings scrutiny to the nonprofit’s valuation and raises the potential for him or his traders gaining a controlling stake.
Musk has taken authorized motion in opposition to OpenAI, alleging it has shifted away from its nonprofit mission by aligning too intently with Microsoft. In the meantime, OpenAI is negotiating fairness distribution with traders, together with SoftBank, which can make investments as much as $25 billion. Musk’s bid provides strain, doubtlessly reshaping the corporate’s future and management selections.
Written with the View : afaqs