Elon Musk, along with a group of investors, has proposed a $97.4 billion bid to purchase OpenAI, according to The Wall Street Journal. The bid targets the assets of the nonprofit organization that oversees the development of the AI company behind ChatGPT. At the same time, OpenAI is actively working on a fundraising campaign aimed at doubling its current valuation.
Musk and Altman’s Tensions Escalate
The situation marks an escalation of what The New York Times describes as a “yearslong, deeply personal tussle” between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, the current CEO of OpenAI. Musk and Altman were both co-founders of OpenAI, but now the organization’s board of directors is closely aligned with Altman.
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In response to the bid, Altman sarcastically posted on X (formerly Twitter): “No thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want,” poking fun at Musk’s ownership of the social media platform. Musk, not one to back down, quickly retorted with a single word: “Swindler.”
OpenAI’s Focus on Fundraising
A source familiar with the situation revealed that OpenAI has not yet reviewed Musk’s bid. The proposal comes from a consortium that includes Vy Capital and Xai, Musk’s AI company. Meanwhile, OpenAI continues to focus on its ongoing fundraising efforts.
OpenAI’s Soaring Valuation
In the latest development, SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate, led the most recent funding round, which valued OpenAI at an impressive $300 billion. This positions OpenAI as one of the world’s most valuable private companies, alongside Musk’s SpaceX and ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.
