Elon Musk has launched a $97.4 billion bid for AI darling OpenAI. The Wall Street Journal reported that a group of investors led by Musk’s xAI submitted an unsolicited offer to the company’s board of directors on Monday. It’s a bid for the non-profit that controls OpenAI’s for-profit arm.
OpenAI is not a traditional company, and the non-profit structure Sam Altman and others at the company want it to get away from may, in fact, protect it from Musk’s offer.
There’s further drama around all this: Musk had sued OpenAI and Sam Altman for allegedly ditching its non-profit mission around this time last year.
An OpenAI spokesperson pointed Engadget to an X post from CEO Sam Altman that said, “No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” Musk’s purchase of Twitter was a heady lump of money that didn’t lead to a typical ROI. It did, however, help him attach himself to President Trump’s successful bid for office.
— Mat Smit
