A monumental bid has been made by a consortium of investors, spearheaded by Elon Musk, to acquire OpenAI for a staggering $97.4 billion. The offer targets the nonprofit entity that oversees the AI startup behind ChatGPT. The proposal was submitted on Monday by Musk’s attorney, Marc Toberoff.
“It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was,” Toberoff said.
The investor group includes notable participants such as xAI (Musk’s AI venture), Baron Capital Group, Valor Equity Partners, 8VC (founded by Joe Lonsdale), and an investment fund led by Ari Emanuel of Endeavor.
The funds from this acquisition are intended solely to support OpenAI’s founding charitable goals. However, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, swiftly rejected this offer on X with a humorous remark. “no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want,” he stated.
Musk and Altman have been embroiled in a contentious legal and public relations dispute since co-founding OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit focused on AI research. Over time, OpenAI has evolved into a major player in generative AI following the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. SoftBank is nearing completion of a significant investment valuing OpenAI at $260 billion.
Musk is currently involved in legal actions against OpenAI alleging antitrust violations and seeking to prevent its transition into a fully profit-driven corporation. Additionally, there are discussions about potential mergers between xAI and OpenAI if the acquisition proceeds.
In another development related to AI infrastructure investments across the U.S., Trump announced Stargate—a project involving partnerships between companies like SoftBank and Oracle—shortly after his inauguration last year.
Toberoff had previously requested that bidding processes be opened up for potential acquisitions involving California and Delaware attorneys general as early as January 7th this year.