Musk’s bid for OpenAI aims to prevent the organization from shifting to a profit-driven model
OpenAI rejected an investment deal worth $97.4 billion which Elon Musk led with his partners. The creators of ChatGPT maintain strict ownership of the company while they view new purchase offers as improper towards their base of operations.
The collective investors including Musk provided a $97.6 billion acquisition proposal to OpenAI during the previous week. Elon Musk launched his bid to obtain OpenAI during his public disagreement with CEO Sam Altman who became his co-founder at the company in 2015.
OpenAI executives under Chairman Bret Taylor declared through X they oppose all attempts from Elon Musk to either purchase or disrupt their competitor company. Any possible restructuring of OpenAI will build upon the nonprofit structure while advancing its mission to guarantee Advanced General Intelligence serves all people globally.
“OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition. Any potential reorganization of OpenAI will strengthen our nonprofit and its mission to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity,” Taylor firmly stated.
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Altman’s lighthearted response
Altman responded with humor through Twitter by offering to secure Twitter with an $9.74 billion deal if Musk desired acquisition.
“No thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want,” Altman wrote.
The OpenAI systems remain unavailable to purchase according to recent statements from the company representative to Axios. Musk’s retort? Simply calling Altman a “swindler.”
Musk’s pursuit of OpenAI acquisition demonstrates his goal of stopping the organization from transforming into a profit-focused business model. According to his lawyer Marc Toberoff OpenAI seeks to sell off the leadership rights of its profitable business segment thus benefiting specific board members at expense of its non-profit objectives.
What’s next for OpenAI?
OpenAI officially declared a restructuring plan during late December to establish itself as a public benefit company. A new corporate structure for the startup has been introduced to make fundraising easier as it removes functional barriers usually restricted to nonprofits. The company deems this corporate structure change essential to obtain funding while sustaining their competitive position in the fast-changing AI industry.