OpenAI CEO Sam Altman rejected a $97.4 billion play by an Elon Musk-led consortium to take charge of the non-profit group that controls the AI company, heating up a longstanding rivalry between the two tech moguls.
The news, first reported byWall Street Journal, marks an attempt by Musk to block OpenAI’s ongoing bid towards a for-profit structure and return it to its original nonprofit mission. The group of bidders includes Musk’s AI company xAI, as well as investment firms Baron Capital Group and Emmanuel Capital.
Altman swiftly rejected the offer, stating on Musk-owned platform X: “No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”
According to Reuters, the OpenAI CEO also informed employees that the company remains committed to its existing for-profit push. Musk responded by calling Altman a swindler.
Sources told Reuters that if Musk were to proceed with the acquisition, he would need to secure sizeable funding, possibly utilising his stakes in Tesla or SpaceX.
Long-running feud
In 2024, OpenAI initiated a restructure of the company, making its for-profit unit independent from its nonprofit parent to boost its ability to raise funds.
Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, left the organisation in 2018 over clashes with Altman and has since heavily criticised the company’s revised business model. For instance, he urged lawmakers in two US states to push OpenAI into auctioning large stakes in its business.
The pair also publicly clashed over US President Donald Trump-backed joint venture Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative involving OpenAI. The tech moguls took to X last month to spar over Musk’s allegations about the project’s financial viability.
Source: Mobile World Live
