Elon Musk has made an unsolicited bid to acquire OpenAI, a nonprofit organization that controls the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT. The offer is worth $97.4 billion in cash. However, there’s a catch: if OpenAI decides to convert into a for-profit business, Musk wants his former friend and business partner Sam Altman to abandon a restructuring plan that would make OpenAI profitable.
Musk claims he’ll withdraw the offer if OpenAI halts its transition to a for-profit enterprise. This stipulation is part of a court filing by Musk’s lawyers, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
When OpenAI was founded, it initially stated that its research was free from financial obligations. However, about four years later, it created a hybrid entity – a mix of a non-profit and for-profit organization – to raise capital and increase investments while maintaining its mission. This change involved OpenAI’s nonprofit and the for-profit subsidiary.
Recently, OpenAI announced plans to reorganize its for-profit subsidiary into a Delaware-based public benefit corporation. As part of this restructuring, OpenAI’s nonprofit would then own shares in the for-profit company.
The bid by Musk also stems from the strained relationship between Musk and Altman. The two co-founded OpenAI together a decade ago but had a disagreement over Musk’s offer to merge or acquire the company. Musk has since sued Altman and OpenAI, mainly due to their partnership with Microsoft.
OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman rejected the bid on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating that they would buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if Musk wanted it. Musk responded by calling Altman a “swindler.”
Source: https://fortune.com/2025/02/13/elon-musk-sam-altman-openai-nonprofit-bid