Elon Musk just offered to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion

In a dramatic escalation of Silicon Valley’s most heated AI rivalry, Elon Musk just announced that he’s leading a $97.4 billion bid to buy OpenAI’s nonprofit arm, according to The Wall Street Journal. The bid was reportedly delivered to the board Monday morning.

The offer brings together a powerful coalition of backers, including Musk’s own AI company xAI and venture heavyweights like Valor Equity Partners, Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale’s venture firm 8VC.

“It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was,” Musk said in a statement provided by his lawyer Marc Toberoff to The Wall Street Journal. “We will make sure that happens.”

The bid also adds a significant layer of complexity to OpenAI’s planned for-profit conversion, as Musk’s team has promised to match or exceed any higher offers. This creates a thorny situation for Altman, who’s already navigating negotiations with Microsoft and other stakeholders over equity in the planned for-profit structure.

Shortly after the news was announced, Altman posted on X: “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”

OpenAI pointed to Altman’s post when asked for comment. Toberoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment.