Elon Musk wants to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion

Elon Musk has launched a $97.4 billion bid to take control of OpenAI. The Wall Street Journal reports a group of investors led by Musk's xAI submitted an unsolicited offer to the company's board of directors on Monday. The group wants to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI's for-profit arm. 

When asked for comment, an OpenAI spokesperson pointed Engadget to an X post from CEO Sam Altman. "No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want," Altman wrote on the social media platform Musk owns.  

no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want

— Sam Altman (@sama) February 10, 2025

"It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was," Musk said in a statement his attorney shared with The Journal. "We will make sure that happens."

A flow chart detailing OpenAI's corporate structure
OpenAI

It's hard to say how serious this bid from Musk is and what — if any — chance it has to succeed. OpenAI is not a traditional company, and the nonprofit structure Sam Altman and others at the company want it to get away from may in fact protect it from Musk's offer. Were OpenAI purely a for-profit company with traditional shares Musk's bid would likely trigger what's known in corporate law as a Revlon moment, where, under certain circumstances, the company's board of directors would be forced to sell the company to the highest bidder to maximize shareholder profits.  

Musk, as you can imagine, wasn't a fan of Altman's joke, writing "Swindler" in response and later calling him "Scam Altman."   

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/elon-musk-wants-to-buy-openai-for-974-billion-215221105.html?src=rss https://www.engadget.com/ai/elon-musk-wants-to-buy-openai-for-974-billion-215221105.html?src=rss
Vytvorené 14d | 10. 2. 2025, 22:50:27


Ak chcete pridať komentár, prihláste sa

Ostatné príspevky v tejto skupine

Disney+ just dropped an explosive trailer for Andor season 2

It’s been well over two years, but the wait is almost over. The second season of Andor hits Disney+ on April 22. The platform

24. 2. 2025, 20:40:26 | Engadget
Gmail will stop using SMS for two-factor authentication

Google is planning to end support for SMS-based two-factor authentication in Gmail,

24. 2. 2025, 20:40:25 | Engadget
How to follow the Amazon devices event on February 26

It's sort of out of character for Amazon to be hosting

24. 2. 2025, 20:40:22 | Engadget
Here's how to get MagSafe charging on an iPhone 16e

The Apple iPhone 16e looks like a solid

24. 2. 2025, 20:40:21 | Engadget
Anthropic’s new Claude model can think both fast and slow

Another week, and there's another new AI model ready for public use. This time, it's Anthropic with the introduction of

24. 2. 2025, 20:40:20 | Engadget
The Apple Pencil Pro is back on sale for $99

Apple’s fantastic stylus, the Pencil Pro, is on sale

24. 2. 2025, 18:30:26 | Engadget