Elon Musk Leads $97.4 Billion Bid to Acquire AI Giant OpenAI

Elon Musk’s Group Offers $97.4 Billion to Buy OpenAI

In a dramatic escalation of tensions, Elon Musk is attempting to take control of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, with a $97.4 billion bid. The unsolicited offer, submitted on Monday, intensifies Musk's long-standing feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and raises questions about the future direction of the influential AI company.

A Battle Over AI's Future

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but departed in 2019, has long been critical of the company's increasing focus on for-profit activities and its close ties with Microsoft. He argues that OpenAI has strayed from its original mission of developing open-source AI for the benefit of humanity. "It's time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was," Musk stated, vowing to ensure that happens.

Altman's Swift Rejection

Altman swiftly dismissed Musk's takeover attempt, responding with a jab on X (formerly Twitter):

"No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want". Musk retorted, calling Altman a "Swindler" and later posting

"Scam Altman"

High Stakes and Financial Maneuvering

Musk's bid is backed by his AI company, xAI, and a consortium of investors. This move comes as OpenAI is seeking a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, which could value the company at up to $300 billion. Musk's legal team is challenging OpenAI's transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity, arguing that the nonprofit is being undervalued. Legal experts suggest the bid could impact OpenAI's corporate restructuring efforts4. The battle for OpenAI's future is intensifying, with legal challenges, massive funding rounds, and the control of AI's trajectory at stake.

The official post of this news is https://x.com/BRICSinfo/status/1889053989913723076.