AP Technology Writer Matt O’Brien
An investor group led by Elon Musk offers roughly $97.4 billion to buy Openai, escalating legal disputes with artificial intelligence companies Musk has found.
According to Musk’s Marc Toberoff, Musk and his own consortium of AI startups, Xai and investment companies want to manage the ChatGpt makers and return to their original charity mission as a non-profit lab.
Openai CEO Sam Altman immediately rejected the contract on Musk’s social platform X, saying, “Thank you, but I’ll buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if necessary.”
Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 for $44 billion.
Musk and Altman, who started Openai in 2015 and later competed over who should lead it, have been a long-standing feud over startup directions since Musk stepped down from the board in 2018.
Musk, an early Openai investor and board member, first sued the company in California state court last year in federal courts, and later in federal courts as a non-profit research lab that benefits public goods. claimed it had betrayed the establishment goal. Musk had invested around $45 million in startups since its founding until 2018, Toberoff said.
Musk and Openry’s lawyers faced them last week in federal court in California. The judge overwhelmed the court-ordered mask request to stop chat makers from converting them into for-profit organizations.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has not yet ruled on the mask request, but in court, if Musk doesn’t step in and stop Open Eye from planning, he’s going to get it back. He said it was “stretching” to claim it hurts more than it could possibly. – For-profit transition.
However, the judge also raised concerns about Openai’s relationship with business partner Microsoft, and said he would not stop him from moving to trial anytime soon next year so that the ju judge can make a decision.
“It’s plausible that what Musk is saying is true. I know. He’s sitting in the stand,” she said.
Others who support the bid announced Monday, along with Musk and Zai include Baron Capital Group, Valor Management, Atlaid Management, VY Fund, Emmanuel Capital Management and eight partner VCs.
In a statement, Toberoff said that the current board of Altman and Openai “if it is intended to be a fully for-profit corporation, the charity will be heavily compensated for what its leadership is taking away from it.” It said it is important. Our time.”
Musk’s lawyers also shared a letter he sent to the California and Delaware attorney generals in early January.
“Both offices need to ensure such a transaction process related to Openai’s charitable assets, and therefore need to provide at least fair market value to protect public beneficial interests. “We assume that it provides a competitive bidding process to actually determine fair market value,” writes Toberoff. , seeking details of the terminology and timing of its bidding process.
Original issue: February 10th, 2025, 4:51pm EST
