The Wall Street Journal was first to report the offer. OpenAI formally declined to comment. Toberoff didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
A group of investors led by Elon Musk has offered to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI for US$97.4 billion, escalating a clash between the Tesla chief executive and the artificial intelligence company he co-founded.
With the unsolicited bid, Musk said he hopes to return OpenAI to being “the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was,” according to a statement. In response, OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman posted on Musk’s X social-media platform: “No thank you but we will buy twitter for US$9.74 billion if you want.” (Musk acquired Twitter for US$44 billion, but its value later diminished, according to outside estimates.)
