A group of investors led by Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has offered $97.4bn to acquire OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, aiming to restore its original non-profit mission.
The offer seeks to purchase all of OpenAI’s assets and refocus the organisation on its founding principles, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Monday.
Recall that Musk co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman in 2015 as a non-profit but left in 2019.
Tensions between the two have since escalated into a legal dispute over the company’s transition into a for-profit entity under Altman’s leadership.
Altman, who serves as the CEO, rejected the takeover proposal in a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “No thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74bn if you want.”
Musk, who bought Twitter in 2022 for $44bn and rebranded it as X, responded by calling Altman a “swindler.”
Later, the billionaire entrepreneur shared a video sighted on his page explaining his opposition to OpenAI’s evolution, accusing Altman of profiting from a venture that was initially set up as a non-profit.
“He claimed not to be getting rich, but he has made billions. He has claimed many false things,” Musk said in the video.
“Apparently, he’s getting $10bn in stock. I don’t trust him, and I don’t think we want the most powerful AI in the world controlled by someone who is not trustworthy.”
Musk has long criticised OpenAI’s transition into a for-profit entity, arguing that its current direction contradicts the founding vision of an open and ethical approach to artificial intelligence.
