Elon Musk, having previously failed in legal attempts to influence OpenAI, is now leading a group of investors in a $97.4 billion bid to acquire the company. The Wall Street Journal reported today that a consortium of investors, led by Elon Musk, is attempting to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI. Musk's attorney, Marc Toberoff, submitted the acquisition proposal to OpenAI's board of directors today.
Musk's investor consortium includes his own company, xAI, as well as Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, Vy Capital, 8VC, and Ari Emanuel, CEO of the Hollywood company Endeavor. If the deal is successful, Musk may merge xAI with OpenAI.
“It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was. We will make sure that happens,” Musk said in a statement.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman countered the acquisition proposal by offering to buy Musk's X (formerly known as Twitter) for approximately $9.74 billion (one-tenth of Musk's proposal for OpenAI).
no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want
— Sam Altman (@sama) February 10, 2025
OpenAI Nonprofit's board currently comprises independent directors Bret Taylor (Chair), Adam D’Angelo, Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Zico Kolter, Retired U.S. Army General Paul M. Nakasone, Adebayo Ogunlesi, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo, and Larry Summers, in addition to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. While Altman has already expressed his position regarding Musk's acquisition proposal, the OpenAI Nonprofit board has not yet responded.
Last week, CNBC reported that SoftBank plans to invest approximately $40 billion in OpenAI's capped-profit arm at a $260 billion pre-money valuation and a $300 billion post-money valuation over the next 12 to 24 months.
In related news, last month, OpenAI announced plans to build AI infrastructure in the US on an unprecedented scale. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and Oracle's Larry Ellison announced The Stargate Project, which will invest $500 billion over the next four years to build new AI infrastructure in the United States.
Image by brandwayart via Pixabay
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