ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman rejects Musk's $97.4bn takeover bid
Musk has expressed interest in returning OpenAI to its nonprofit roots, focusing on AI's benefit to humanity
February 12, 2025
The CEO of OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, Sam Altman, has firmly rejected a $97.4 billion takeover bid from a group of investors led by Elon Musk, BBC reported.
Altman, who co-founded OpenAI with Musk before their public fallout, made the statement during an interview at the AI Action Summit in Paris.
"We are not for sale," Altman said, emphasising that OpenAI's mission is to make artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefit all of humanity. Musk's lawyer, Marc Toberoff, confirmed that a formal bid had been made for OpenAI's assets. In response, Altman humorously posted on Musk's platform, X, saying: "No thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want."
OpenAI has a unique structure, combining both nonprofit and for-profit elements, unlike many other major tech companies. Musk has expressed interest in returning OpenAI to its nonprofit roots, focusing on AI's benefit to humanity.
However, OpenAI’s leadership, including Altman, has been cautious of Musk's motives, especially given his ownership of a competing company, xAI.
While Altman has plans to transform OpenAI into a fully for-profit company to raise more funds for AI research, any decision on OpenAI's future will ultimately be made by the board.
The current $97.4 billion bid is significantly lower than OpenAI's $157 billion valuation from last year, with future funding rounds now reportedly valuing it at $300 billion.
