The non-profit organization OpenAI declined a $97.4 billion acquisition offer from a group of investors led by Elon Musk, stating that “the company and open code are not for sale.” This was revealed by the CEO of the AI startup, Sam Altman, in an interview with Bloomberg.
“Elon has been trying to pull different things for a long time. It’s, you know, the episode of the week. […] I think he’s trying to slow us down. Obviously, [Musk] is our competitor,” noted the CEO of OpenAI.
However, Altman acknowledged that the billionaire has worked extensively on the AI project xAI and the chatbot Grok:
“But I would like him to just compete by creating a good product. But it seems Musk uses many tactics and resorts to lawsuits, and now this. We will just try to ignore such things and continue working.”
When asked about the transformation of OpenAI into a commercial company, Altman stated that there are no plans to change direction and emphasized the importance of the non-profit foundation. According to him, the board of directors is considering the next steps for the firm’s development.
The CEO also suggested that Musk, as the journalist put it, “approaches AI from a position of insecurity.”
“Perhaps he has been insecure all his life. I feel sorry for him. I don’t think Musk is a happy person,” Altman emphasized.
In January, media reported on OpenAI’s plans to close a new funding round with a valuation of $340 billion. It is expected that SoftBank will lead the round with an investment of $15 billion to $25 billion, becoming the largest investor in Sam Altman’s firm.