Washington, DC: According to The New York Times, a consortium of investors headed by Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, spent USD 97.4 billion to purchase OpenAI’s assets.

The offer on X (previously Twitter) was mocked by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who responded, “No thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”

The most recent development is Musk’s most recent attempt to undermine OpenAI, a company he assisted in founding over ten years ago.

https://twitter.com/sama/status/1889059531625464090

According to insiders who asked not to be named because of the current discussions, the consortium consists of investors, Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel, Vy Capital, and Xai, Musk’s artificial intelligence firm. The offer had previously been published by the Wall Street Journal.

According to a source close to OpenAI’s possible reaction, the corporation has not yet seen Musk’s approach, according to the New York Times. OpenAI’s attempts to complete a USD 40 billion fundraising package, which would greatly raise the company’s worth from only four months ago, may be hampered by this unsolicited bid.

Three people with knowledge of the transaction who spoke on condition of anonymity estimate that OpenAI is valued at USD 300 billion in the latest fundraising round, which is being spearheaded by the Japanese giant SoftBank.

According to The New York Times, if this acquisition is finalized, OpenAI would rank among the most valuable private firms in the world, along with ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, and Musk’s SpaceX.

Notably, Altman and Musk have been at odds for a long time. Musk sued OpenAI in August of last year, claiming that the company has prioritized money above its original nonprofit goal of developing AI for the good of all people.

Elon Musk’s case against OpenAI to stop the company’s conversion to a for-profit business may go to trial, according to a federal judge in the United States this month. The CEO of Tesla may need to appear in court and provide testimony, according to Al Jazeera.

However, it is important to remember that Musk and Altman co-created OpenAI in 2015, but Musk departed before the business took off, and in 2023 he formed the rival AI venture xAI.

Notably, the two tech entrepreneurs have recently been at odds with one another.

In the first week of his administration, Donald Trump unveiled Stargate, a joint venture with OpenAI, Oracle (ORCL), and SoftBank (SFTBY) that will spend around USD 500 billion on AI infrastructure.

Elon Musk criticized the decision, saying, “They don’t actually have the money.”

Musk was called “wrong” by Altman, who also extended an invitation for Musk to visit a Texas AI research facility. Altman said that Musk must prioritize “America first” in his “new role” and called Trump’s statement “great” for the nation.

“This is fantastic for the nation. I understand that what is best for the nation may not always be the best for your businesses, but in your new position, I hope you will prioritize [America] above all else,” Altman wrote, including an image of an American flag.