Shocking Move: Musk's Team Unleashes a Staggering $97.4B Bid for OpenAI!

Recent reports indicate that a consortium of investors led by Elon Musk offered $97.4bn to take over OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. According to Musk's attorney, Marc Toberoff, the billionaire submitted the bid for "all assets" of the tech company to its board on Monday. 

A Move for Control 

The offer represents the latest twist in a long-running face-off between Musk, the world's richest man and right hand to US President Donald Trump, and Open AI chief executive Sam Altman over the start-up's future at the center of the AI boom. Recall that Musk was part of the team that started OpenAI in 2015 before leaving a couple of years later when the relationship turned cold. 

In response to the bid, Altman made a cheeky post on Musk's social media platform X (formerly Twitter): "No thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want." OpenAI is widely credited with helping bring AI tools into the mainstream, leading to huge investment in the sector.

Reports indicate that Altman is l restructuring the company to become a for-profit entity, essentially stripping it of its non-profit board. Musk argues that this move means the company has abandoned its founding mission of developing AI for the benefit of humanity. However, OpenAI issued a rebuttal, stating its transition into a for-profit firm is required to secure the money needed for developing the best artificial intelligence models.

No Backing Out 

The consortium isn't alone as the bid to take control of OpenAI is backed by Musk's AI company xAI. Several private equity firms, including Baron Capital Group and Valor Management, form a strong contingent.

"It's time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was. We will make sure that happens," Musk said in a statement. While the offer tabled at $97.4bn is a staggering one, it is still much lower than the $157bn the company 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, Musk's attorney, said the consortium would be "prepared to consider matching or exceeding" any potential higher bid. He also stated that "As the co-founder of OpenAI and the most innovative and successful tech industry leader in history, Musk is the person best positioned to protect and grow OpenAI's technology." 

Building a Resistance 

OpenAI is not alone. The creator of ChatGPT is teaming up with another US tech giant, Oracle, along with a Japanese investment firm and an Emirati sovereign wealth fund to build $500bn of artificial intelligence infrastructure in the US. The new company, called The Stargate Project, was announced at the White House by President Trump who billed it as "the largest AI infrastructure project by far in history" and said it would help keep "the future of technology" in the US.

Despite being a top advisor to Trump, Musk has claimed the venture does not "actually have the money" it has pledged to invest. So far, the X CEO hasn't added details on that statement or what it means for the proposed takeover of OpenAI.