Musk offers $97.4B to buy OpenAI nonprofit

A consortium led by Elon Musk said it has offered $97.4 billion to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI.

It’s another attempt by the billionaire to block the artificial intelligence startup from transitioning to a for-profit firm.

Musk's bid is likely to ramp up a longstanding feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the future of the ChatGPT maker.

Altman posted on X: 'no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.'

Musk co founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 as a nonprofit, but left before the company took off.

He went on to found the competing AI startup xAI in 2023.

OpenAI is now trying to transition from a nonprofit into a for-profit entity.

It says that restructure is required to raise the funds needed to develop the best AI models.

Musk’s new offer is only his most recent attempt to throw a wrench in those plans.

In August last year, Musk sued Altman and others, claiming they broke contract by putting profit ahead of the public good in the push to advance AI.

Then in November, he tried in court to block OpenAI from converting to a for-profit structure.

The consortium led by Musk that is now trying to buy OpenAI’s parent nonprofit includes xAI and several investment firms.

Were a deal to go through, xAI could merge with OpenAI, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported Musk's offer.

Aside from any antitrust implications, a deal this size would need Musk and his consortium to raise enormous amounts of funding.

According to an uninvolved investment banker, in order to finance such a bid, Musk could sell part of his stake in Tesla or take a loan against his stake.

He could also put up as collateral his stake in rocket company SpaceX, which is worth tens of billions of dollars.