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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has rejected a $97.4 billion takeover bid from a consortium led by Elon Musk. Musk's attorney, Marc Toberoff, confirmed the "all assets" offer was submitted to OpenAI's board on Monday. The bid marks the latest development in a long-running dispute between Musk and Altman over the direction of the AI startup.
In response to the bid, Altman posted on Musk's social media platform X: "no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want".
His rejection of the bid does not necessarily mean the proposed takeover is dead. OpenAI's board will have a say on the company's future and may favour a sale, especially if the offer is increased. However, there are also questions about how serious Musk is about actually acquiring the firm, and whether the offer is really part of the ongoing legal row between the two men.
Musk and Altman co-founded the start-up in 2015 as a non-profit company, but the relationship soured, and the Tesla and X boss departed the firm in 2018.
Altman is said to be restructuring the company to become a for-profit entity, stripping it of its non-profit board - a move Musk argues means the company has abandoned its founding mission of developing AI for the benefit of humanity. But OpenAI argues its transition into a for-profit firm is required to secure the money needed for developing the best artificial intelligence models.
The offer tabled at $97.4bn is much lower than the $157bn OpenAI was valued at in its latest funding round in October last year. Talks over a further funding round reportedly value it now at $300bn.
In a statement, Mr Toberoff said the consortium would be "prepared to consider matching or exceeding" any potential higher bid.
