Musk also offered to withdraw the bid if OpenAI halted a potential transition into a for-profit company.
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has rejected a hostile takeover bid from Elon Musk.
“OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition,” Bret Taylor, OpenAI’s board chair, said in a statement on behalf of the company’s board of directors. “Any potential reorganization of OpenAI will strengthen our nonprofit and its mission to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity.”
Earlier this week, Musk formally submitted a $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI, while also offering to withdraw the bid if the firm halted a potential transition into a for-profit company.
An attorney for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit in 2015, is currently suing the company and its leader, Sam Altman, over what Musk alleges is corporate misconduct — specifically around OpenAI’s move to transition into a more conventional for-profit business.
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Earlier this month, a federal judge said she would not object to having the suit move forward to trial. Musk and Altman have continuously traded barbs on X while the lawsuit has unfolded.
Taylor, who was named OpenAI chair in 2023, previously dealt with a Musk takeover bid when he served as chair of Twitter, now known as X.
Taylor and Twitter ended up suing Musk after he attempted to back out of a deal to acquire the social media platform for $44 billion.
A Delaware judge ultimately ruled in favor of Twitter and gave Musk a deadline to complete the acquisition, which he did in October 2022.
