Elon Musk’s offer of nearly $100 billion for OpenAI, the maker of the popular artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, has been officially rejected by the board of directors.
However, experts believe that Musk’s unsolicited bid could still disrupt CEO Sam Altman’s plans to transition OpenAI from a non-profit entity to a for-profit company.
University of Cambridge associate teaching professor Johnnie Penn mentioned in an interview with the BBC that Musk may be trying to impede OpenAI’s growth trajectory.
Last week, Elon Musk, along with a group of investors led by Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel, made a $97.4 billion offer for all of OpenAI’s assets.
This offer was lower than the previous valuation of $157 billion and much lower than the speculated worth of $300 billion.
The complex structure of OpenAI, which involves both non-profit and for-profit arms, further complicates the situation.
Mr. Altman’s desire to alter this structure by removing the non-profit board could incur additional costs that Musk seems intent on inflating.
Dr. Penn pointed out that Musk’s aim may be to elevate the perceived value of OpenAI’s non-profit arm to make it more expensive for Altman to make the transition.
Musk justified his actions by expressing his intention to steer OpenAI back to its original mission of developing AI for the betterment of humanity.
However, some believe that his motives may be linked to his struggling AI company xAI and chatbot Grok, which have not received a positive response from the public.
Mr. Finger suggested that Musk’s actions are driven by his desire to undermine a significant competitor in the AI field.
The escalating tension between Altman and Musk culminated in a legal battle, with Musk seeking an injunction to block OpenAI’s planned conversion.
The back-and-forth exchanges in court indicate a rift between the two, with Musk portraying Altman in a negative light and Altman questioning Musk’s motives.