Elon Musk Leads Bid to Buy Assets of OpenAI for $97.4 Billion

A consortium led by Elon Musk has made a $97.4 billion bid to acquire the nonprofit organization that controls OpenAI, in a move that intensifies the longstanding battle for control of the company between Mr. Musk and OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman.

The group includes Vy Capital, Xai (Mr. Musk’s AI company), Hollywood power-broker Ari Emanuel, and other investors. The offer was reported by The Wall Street Journal and OpenAI has yet to respond to the bid.

OpenAI, however, declined to comment on the bid. Mr. Altman has jokingly suggested that they would be interested in buying Twitter for $9.74 billion instead.

Marc Toberoff, the Los Angeles lawyer who filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on behalf of Mr. Musk last year, has not commented on the recent developments.

Mr. Musk, a co-founder and early investor in OpenAI, left the company following a power struggle. He went on to establish his own AI company in direct competition with Mr. Altman’s company.

The unsolicited bid comes at a time when OpenAI was finalizing a $40 billion fundraising deal that would significantly increase the company’s valuation.

The new fundraising round, led by SoftBank, values OpenAI at $300 billion, potentially making it one of the most valuable private companies globally.

SoftBank is expected to invest up to $40 billion in OpenAI, with other investors contributing a quarter of the total funds.

This development comes amidst a lawsuit filed by The New York Times against OpenAI and Microsoft for alleged copyright infringement related to AI systems.

This story is still developing. Stay tuned for updates.

Marc Toberoff, a Los Angeles lawyer who filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on behalf of Mr. Musk last year, did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Musk was one of OpenAI’s co-founders and one of its initial investors but left after a power struggle. Mr. Musk also created his own A.I. company to compete head on with Mr. Altman’s company.

The unsolicited offer landed as OpenAI was set to complete a $40 billion fund-raising deal that would nearly double the high-profile company’s valuation from just four months ago.

The new fund-raising round, led by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, values OpenAI at $300 billion, according to three people with knowledge of the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The deal would make OpenAI one of the most valuable private companies in the world, along with the rocket company SpaceX and ByteDance, the maker of TikTok.

SoftBank would invest up to $40 billion in OpenAI, with other investors providing about a quarter of the total funds, the people said. (The New York Times has sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. The two companies have denied the suit’s claims.)

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.