Elon Musk has stated that he will withdraw his $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit arm if Sam Altman halts his plans to convert it into a for-profit entity, according to a recent court filing.
CNBC reports that Elon Musk, along with his artificial intelligence company xAI and a consortium of investors, has offered to withdraw his $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit arm. The offer, however, comes with a condition: OpenAI must stop its conversion into a for-profit entity and maintain its nonprofit status. The court filing, submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday, stated, “If OpenAI, Inc.’s Board is prepared to preserve the charity’s mission and stipulate to take the ‘for sale’ sign off its assets by halting its conversion, Musk will withdraw the bid.”
The bid, launched on Monday, accused OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman of abandoning the company’s original mission to develop AI for good and instead pursuing profits. Musk, who helped launch the AI research firm in 2015 and claims to have donated $50 million to it, has expressed frustration with OpenAI’s move toward becoming a for-profit company since his departure from the company’s board in 2018.
Altman has rebuffed Musk’s offer, telling CNBC that the move is merely an effort by Musk to “slow down a competitor.” OpenAI, initially founded as a nonprofit in 2015, later converted to a “capped profit” model in 2019. Supporters of OpenAI’s conversion to a fully for-profit public benefit corporation argue that this will better allow the company to scale and attract investors.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai via video link on Thursday, Musk reiterated his concerns about OpenAI’s shift away from its nonprofit roots. He drew an analogy, saying, “I think this is analogous to, like … if you find a nonprofit to preserve the Amazon rainforest, but then … instead they turn into a lumber company and chop down the trees and sell them for wood.” Musk suggested that OpenAI should now change its name to “maximum profit AI” or “closed for voracious profit.”
The battle between Musk and OpenAI has sparked a heated debate about the role of AI companies and the balance between profit and the pursuit of AI for the greater good. As the situation continues to unfold, the tech world awaits the outcome of this high-stakes confrontation between two of the most influential figures in the AI industry.
The court filing has made it clear that Musk’s offer is contingent upon OpenAI maintaining its nonprofit status and mission. If the company proceeds with its plans to become a fully for-profit entity, Musk insists that “the charity must be compensated by what an arms-length buyer will pay for its assets.”
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
