OpenAI's board of directors has unanimously turned down Elon Musk's substantial offer to acquire the nonprofit organization that oversees the company. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, proposed purchasing the nonprofit for a staggering $97.4 billion. This proposition was delivered through a legal lawsuit in which Musk accuses OpenAI of engaging in anticompetitive behavior and fraud.
Founded as a nonprofit, OpenAI transitioned to a "capped-profit" structure in 2019. Currently, the nonprofit remains the sole controlling shareholder of the capped-profit OpenAI corporation, maintaining formal fiduciary responsibility to the nonprofit's charter. Despite Musk's significant financial proposal, the board has emphasized its commitment to the organization’s mission and structure.
"OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition." – Bret Taylor
The lawsuit Musk initiated last year against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, underscores his escalating tensions with the company he helped establish. Within this legal context, Musk's bid to buy the nonprofit is perceived as contradictory to his courtroom position, where he argued that transferring OpenAI’s assets through restructuring would violate its mission as a charitable trust.
OpenAI's board of directors has labeled Musk's bid as an attempt to interfere with competition. Bret Taylor, the board chair, reaffirmed OpenAI’s dedication to its mission, stating that any reorganization would further strengthen the nonprofit.
"Any potential reorganization of OpenAI will strengthen our nonprofit and its mission to ensure [artificial general intelligence] benefits all of humanity." – Bret Taylor
In response, OpenAI's legal team criticized Musk’s offer as an improper attempt to undermine a competitor. The company maintains that its nonprofit entity is not available for purchase and continues to focus on its core mission to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.
"doesn’t set a value for [OpenAI’s] nonprofit" – Andy Nussbaum
Despite this rejection, Musk has indicated he might withdraw his bid if OpenAI’s board agrees to preserve the charity's mission and halts the company's conversion to a for-profit model. This development highlights the ongoing complexity surrounding the governance and future direction of OpenAI.
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