(The Guardian) Elon Musk-led investor group offers $97bn to buy OpenAI
A group of investors led by Musk has offered $97.4bn to buy the non-profit that operates OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
The consortium includes Musk’s AI firm X.AI, Baron Capital, Valor Management, Altreides Management, Vy Fund III, Emanuel Capital Management and Eight Partners VC. The funds would be used to purchase all assets of OpenAI, and further the non-profit’s “original charitable mission”.
Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman cofounded OpenAI as a non-profit in 2015 – but the two have been engaged in a months-long legal battle over the future of the organization as Altman has attempted to transition OpenAI into a for-profit company. Altman became chief executive of the company in 2019, after Musk left the company.
“If Sam Altman and the present OpenAI, Inc. Board of Directors are intent on becoming a fully for-profit corporation, it is vital that the charity be fairly compensated for what its leadership is taking away from it: control over the most transformative technology of our time,” said Marc Toberoff, the attorney representing the investors. “As the co-founder of OpenAI and the most innovative and successful tech industry leader in history, Musk is the person best positioned to protect and grow OpenAI’s technology.”
If such a deal goes through, Musk’s X.AI could merge with OpenAI, raising potential antitrust questions.
“At x.AI, we live by the values I was promised OpenAI would follow. We’ve made Grok open source, and we respect the rights of content creators,” said Musk. “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.”
A group of investors led by Musk has offered $97.4bn to buy the non-profit that operates OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
The consortium includes Musk’s AI firm X.AI, Baron Capital, Valor Management, Altreides Management, Vy Fund III, Emanuel Capital Management and Eight Partners VC. The funds would be used to purchase all assets of OpenAI, and further the non-profit’s “original charitable mission”.
Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman cofounded OpenAI as a non-profit in 2015 – but the two have been engaged in a months-long legal battle over the future of the organization as Altman has attempted to transition OpenAI into a for-profit company. Altman became chief executive of the company in 2019, after Musk left the company.
“If Sam Altman and the present OpenAI, Inc. Board of Directors are intent on becoming a fully for-profit corporation, it is vital that the charity be fairly compensated for what its leadership is taking away from it: control over the most transformative technology of our time,” said Marc Toberoff, the attorney representing the investors. “As the co-founder of OpenAI and the most innovative and successful tech industry leader in history, Musk is the person best positioned to protect and grow OpenAI’s technology.”
If such a deal goes through, Musk’s X.AI could merge with OpenAI, raising potential antitrust questions.
“At x.AI, we live by the values I was promised OpenAI would follow. We’ve made Grok open source, and we respect the rights of content creators,” said Musk. “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.”
