Key Takeaways
- OpenAI rejected a reported $97.4 billion takeover offer from an Elon Musk-led investor group.
- OpenAI Chair Bret Taylor said Friday the company is “not for sale,” after CEO Sam Altman rebuffed the offer in a post on X earlier this week.
- Musk and Altman founded OpenAI together as a nonprofit in 2015, and Musk sued OpenAI last year alleging Altman and others violated the company’s founding mission.
OpenAI rejected a reported $97.4 billion takeover offer from an Elon Musk-led investor group.
OpenAI Chair Bret Taylor posted on Musk-owned X Friday that the ChatGPT developer is “not for sale,” calling the bid “Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition.”
Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI, an OpenAI competitor, is reportedly exploring a $10 billion capital raise that could push its valuation to $75 billion.
OpenAI attorney William Savitt said the offer was “not a bid at all” in a letter to Musk’s lawyer Marc Toberoff Friday, according to a CNBC report. Savitt and Toberoff did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had addressed the offer earlier this week, posting on X, “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” Musk replied, “Swindler,” and in a post replying to another user added, “Scam Altman.”
Musk and Altman founded OpenAI together as a nonprofit in 2015. The offer came after Musk sued Altman and OpenAI last year, alleging he and others had breached the company’s founding mission by prioritizing profits over seeking benefits to humanity. On Wednesday, Musk said he would pull the bid if the nonprofit that controls OpenAI ended its plans to convert to a for-profit firm.