Elon Musk, alongside a consortium of investors, has reportedly proposed acquiring OpenAI for $97.4 billion, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. This bid targets the assets of the nonprofit organization overseeing OpenAI, the company behind the AI language model ChatGPT. Notably, OpenAI is currently engaged in a fundraising campaign aiming to double its valuation.
The New York Times characterizes this development as an escalation of a “years-long, deeply personal tussle for the future of AI” between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive. Both were co-founders of OpenAI, but the current board of directors is closely aligned with Altman as Elon Musk resigned from the company back in 2016.
Despite the history between the pair, the animosity towards each other has been quite clear to see for everyone, with lawsuits and a war of words on social media being exchanged over a couple of years now.
In response to Musk’s proposal, Altman quipped on X (formerly Twitter): “No thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want,” mocking the challenges Musk has faced since acquiring the social media platform. Musk retorted with the term “swindler.”
According to reports, OpenAI has not yet reviewed the bid. The proposal comes from a consortium that includes Vy Capital and Xai, Musk’s AI company. Meanwhile, OpenAI remains focused on its fundraising efforts.
In its latest funding round, led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, OpenAI was valued at $300 billion. This valuation places it among the world’s most valuable private companies, alongside Musk’s SpaceX and ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.
The proposed acquisition underscores the intensifying competition in the AI sector, with major tech figures vying for dominance. Musk’s interest in OpenAI reflects his ongoing commitment to advancing artificial intelligence, despite past disagreements with the organization’s leadership.
As the situation develops, it remains to be seen how OpenAI will respond to Musk’s bid and what implications this potential acquisition could have for the future of AI research and development.
