'Not For Sale': OpenAI Board rejects Elon Musk's $97.4 billion offer
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San Francisco: OpenAI, led by CEO Sam Altman, has rejected billionaire Elon Musk’s offer to buy the nonprofit company for $97.4 billion. In a statement on the social media platform X, OpenAI Board Chair Bret Taylor described Musk’s bid as "an attempt to disrupt his competition" and confirmed that the board had unanimously declined the proposal.
"OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition," Taylor stated. He further emphasized that any potential reorganization of OpenAI would only serve to strengthen its nonprofit mission, ensuring artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity.
Reports indicate that OpenAI also sent a letter to Musk’s lawyer, asserting that the bid was not in the best interests of its core mission. Earlier this week, Musk’s AI venture, xAI, along with a group of investors, had put forward the $97.4 billion offer to acquire OpenAI’s nonprofit entity. However, Altman and the board swiftly dismissed the unsolicited proposal.
Andy Nussbaum, counsel representing OpenAI’s board, stated that Musk’s offer “doesn’t set a value for OpenAI’s nonprofit” and reaffirmed that the organization “is not for sale.”
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, has been engaged in an ongoing legal battle with the company and Altman, accusing them of anticompetitive behavior and fraud. In October last year, Musk filed a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction against OpenAI, alleging that the company had engaged in illicit activities, including converting its governance structure into a for-profit model and transferring material assets, such as intellectual property, to its subsidiaries and affiliates.
The injunction motion named OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, President Greg Brockman, Microsoft, LinkedIn co-founder and former OpenAI board member Reid Hoffman, and former OpenAI board member and Microsoft VP Dee Templeton as involved parties.
OpenAI has repeatedly dismissed Musk’s claims, calling them baseless. In response to his latest legal move, the company reiterated its stance, stating, "Elon’s fourth attempt, which again recycles the same baseless complaints, continues to be utterly without merit." OpenAI had previously characterized Musk’s lawsuit as “blusterous” and without foundation.
With IANS inputs