A consortium led by Elon Musk has made a $97.4 billion bid to acquire the nonprofit entity controlling OpenAI, further escalating the ongoing tensions between Musk and OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman. The offer, aimed at gaining control over the nonprofit organization that has propelled AI technologies like ChatGPT into the mainstream, was confirmed by Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff on Monday.

Following the announcement, Altman promptly posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “No thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” Musk's bid is particularly noteworthy as it comes amidst legal disputes over OpenAI's transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit corporation—a move Musk has vehemently criticized.

“It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was,” Musk stated, expressing his disapproval of the current direction under Altman's leadership. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, left the organization in 2018 after a power struggle and subsequently created his own AI venture, xAI, in 2023.

The ongoing legal battle centers around Musk's assertion that OpenAI has strayed from its original mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity. Recently, Musk filed a lawsuit claiming that OpenAI and Altman violated their contract by prioritizing profit over the public good. This lawsuit has delayed Altman's efforts to fundamentally restructure OpenAI.

Musk's bid follows an informative report by the Wall Street Journal, which detailed various investors backing Musk’s offer, including Baron Capital Group, Valor Management, and Emanuel Capital. Analysts suggest that the bid complicates OpenAI's potential fundraising efforts, given the firm was recently valued at $157 billion in its last funding round and is reportedly in negotiations for new investments that could elevate its worth to $300 billion.

Despite the substantial offer, it remains uncertain how OpenAI’s board will respond, with Altman reportedly preparing a statement to indicate the company is not interested in Musk’s proposal. Moreover, the discussions around another large-scale project involving OpenAI, The Stargate Project, could also be impacted if Musk’s bid is taken seriously.

Musk’s financial standing, bolstered by his leadership roles at Tesla and SpaceX, could lend credibility to the offer. However, the potential funding mechanisms for such a large acquisition remain a topic of speculation, especially considering Musk's previous $44 billion acquisition of what is now called X.

This ongoing rivalry between Musk and Altman highlights the intensifying competition in the rapid evolution of AI technologies, with major implications for the future direction of this transformative field.

For more details, refer to the original Forbes article.