SAN FRANCISCO -- A team of investors led by Elon Musk submitted a $97.4 billion bid to buy the non-profit that controls OpenAI, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
This combination of pictures created on Dec 27, 2024 shows Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Elon Musk. [Photo/Agencies]
Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff said that he had presented the bid to OpenAI's board of directors, according to the Journal.
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 alongside Sam Altman and others but left the company in 2018. The Musk-led team is positioning the move as an effort to refocus OpenAI on open-sourced artificial intelligence (AI).
"It's time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was. We will make sure that happens," Musk said in a statement on Monday.
In November 2024, Musk's legal team filed a motion for an injunction as part of a lawsuit against OpenAI, challenging its effort to transition from nonprofit status.
Musk's own AI firm, xAI, is involved in the bid, fueling speculation that a successful acquisition could lead to a merger of the two companies.
In response to Musk's offer, Altman wrote on the social platform X on Monday, "No thank you but we will buy Twitter for 9.74 billion dollars if you want."
