OpenAI rejects $97.4bn Musk bid, says company not for sale

PanARMENIAN.Net - OpenAI has turned down a $97.4bn acquisition proposal from a group led by billionaire Elon Musk, asserting that the company remains off the market.

Musk’s unsolicited bid represents his most recent move to prevent the AI firm—co-founded with CEO Sam Altman but later departed—from shifting to a for-profit model as it seeks further investment to maintain its competitive edge in artificial intelligence, The Guardian reports.

“OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition. Any potential reorganization of OpenAI will strengthen our nonprofit and its mission to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity,” OpenAI stated on X, citing board chair Bret Taylor.

Earlier, Altman reiterated to Axios that OpenAI was not for sale. The day before, he had declined the offer with a straightforward “no thank you” on X, to which Musk responded by calling him a “Swindler.”

Musk’s consortium, which includes his AI startup xAI, indicated in a legal filing on Wednesday that it would retract its bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit division if the organization abandoned its plans to transition into a for-profit entity.

“Two days ago, you filed a pleading in court adding new material conditions to the proposal. As a result of that filing, it is now apparent that your clients’ much publicized ‘bid’ is in fact not a bid at all,” OpenAI’s board stated in a letter, signed by company attorney William Savitt, and sent to Musk’s lawyer Marc Toberoff on Friday.

The group backing Musk’s bid also includes Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, and Hollywood dealmaker Ari Emanuel.

Altman and Musk have been at odds for years.

Following Musk’s 2019 departure, OpenAI established a for-profit division that secured billions in investments. This shift led Musk to accuse the company of straying from its original mission by prioritizing financial gains over public benefit.

In August of last year, Musk filed a lawsuit against Altman, OpenAI, and Microsoft—its largest investor—alleging a breach of contract.

By November, Musk sought a preliminary injunction from a U.S. district court to halt OpenAI’s move toward a for-profit structure.