Elon Musk-led investor group makes $97.4 billion offer to buy OpenAI’s nonprofit arm
A group of investors led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk is making an offer to acquire the nonprofit piece of OpenAI for $97.4 billion, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Musk’s attorney was reported to have delivered the offer to OpenAI’s board of directors on Monday.
In a statement provided to the Journal, Musk said: “It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was.”
OpenAI has a complicated corporate structure that is currently playing out in the courts. It’s controlled by a nonprofit entity, which Musk and his group are seeking to buy. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is seeking to change the nonprofit into a for-profit, which Musk has loudly opposed on social media and in the California courts. That process would involve spinning out the nonprofit piece and giving it an equity stake in the for-profit entity.
The Journal lists several investors in the group, including Musk’s xAI, Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, Vy Capital, Palantir cofounder Joe Lansdale’s 8VC, and Ari Emanuel.
In a statement provided to the Journal, Musk said: “It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was.”
OpenAI has a complicated corporate structure that is currently playing out in the courts. It’s controlled by a nonprofit entity, which Musk and his group are seeking to buy. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is seeking to change the nonprofit into a for-profit, which Musk has loudly opposed on social media and in the California courts. That process would involve spinning out the nonprofit piece and giving it an equity stake in the for-profit entity.
The Journal lists several investors in the group, including Musk’s xAI, Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, Vy Capital, Palantir cofounder Joe Lansdale’s 8VC, and Ari Emanuel.
