Sam Altman leaves no doubt about his views on an Elon Musk-led bid to control the Open. In a letter to Openai staff on Monday, the CEO quoted the words “bid” and “trade” in horror, saying the startup’s board of directors is not interested in the offer.
“Our structure exists to ensure that individuals have control over Openai,” Altman writes, according to two sources. “Although Elon runs a competitive AI company, his actions are not about Openai’s mission or values.”
Altman also tells employees that the Openai board he sits with has yet to receive official offers from masks and other investors. If this occurs, the board will refuse to bid, according to these same sources. Internally, Openai employees responded to the news, a mixture of fear and anger. Some of Altman’s letters have been reported previously by information.
A group of investors led by Musk surprised Tech Industry on Monday, an unsolicited offer to buy all Openai assets up to $97.4 billion. Musk’s competitor AI company Xai supports the bid, as well as Valor Equity Partners, a private equity company run by one of Musk’s closest advisors, Antonio Gracias. Gracias helps advise Musk in a contract to acquire Twitter in 2022 and is involved in the efforts in Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Now is the time for Openai to return to its once-safety-focused open source, safety-focused power,” Musk said in a statement sent wired through lawyer Marc Toberoff. “We’ll make sure it happens.”
Musk sued Openai multiple times, among other things, for it allegedly violated its original commitment as a nonprofit by moving to become a for-profit company. In addition to the courtroom counterattack, Openai has published a series of emails claiming Musk knew Openai had to be for commercial purposes in order to pursue artificial general information. In fact, they tried to merge the company with Tesla.
The battle between Musk and Altman shines a spotlight on Openai Board Chairman Bret Taylor, who runs the Twitter board when Elon Musk acquired the company. That bid was easier in theory. Because Twitter was a public company, the board had a clear fiduciary duty to maximize returns. Musk tried to retreat from the acquisition, but his advisors were convinced that it would not ultimately be impossible for him, and he closed on his original terms. Taylor did not respond to a request for comment from Wired.
Openai’s structure is more complicated. Today, the company is a nonprofit organization with a for-profit subsidiary, but is in the process of converting its for-profit sector into a public benefits company. Openai is currently valued at $157 billion based on its latest funding round. The company is in discussions with SoftBank to lead its $40 billion investment, which will bring the company’s valuation up to $300 billion.
