Elon Musk-led group submits $97.4 b bid for OpenAI

SAN FRANCISCO -- A team of investors led by Elon Musk submitted a $97.4 billion bid to buy the non-profit that controls OpenAI, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff said that he had presented the bid to OpenAI's board of directors, according to the Journal.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 alongside Sam Altman and others but left the company in 2018. The Musk-led team is positioning the move as an effort to refocus OpenAI on open-sourced artificial intelligence (AI).

"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," Musk said in a statement on Monday.

In November 2024, Musk's legal team filed a motion for an injunction as part of a lawsuit against OpenAI, challenging its effort to transition from nonprofit status.

Musk's own AI firm, xAI, is involved in the bid, fueling speculation that a successful acquisition could lead to a merger of the two companies.

In response to Musk's offer, Altman wrote on the social platform X on Monday, "No thank you but we will buy Twitter for 9.74 billion dollars if you want."