Has Elon Musk just put OpenAI in a tricky situation?
Elon Musk’s $97.4bn (£78.7bn) bid for OpenAI is part of a long-running feud
between the pair, who co-founded OpenAI as a non-profit entity for the benefit
of humanity.
Science and technology editor @t0mclark3 [http://twitter.com/@t0mclark3]
Tuesday 11 February 2025 14:35, UK
The AI summit in Paris is a coming together of world leaders and technology
firms designed to shape a responsible and sustainable future for artificial
intelligence.
But the big political day of the summit was overshadowed by a bust-up between
rival billionaire tech-bros.
Timed perfectly to coincide with OpenAI
[https://news.sky.com/topic/openai-10948] chief executive Sam Altman’s arrival
in Paris, Elon Musk [https://news.sky.com/topic/elon-musk-6730] put in a formal
$97.4 (£78.7bn) billion offer to buy OpenAI.
Read more: OpenAI co-founder tells Sky News his platform is ‘not for sale’
[https://news.sky.com/story/openai-co-founder-sam-altman-tells-sky-news-his-platform-can-be-safer-13307024]
It would be easy to write it off as a typically mischievous play by Mr Musk. But
his move is calculated and potentially very problematic for Mr Altman.
OpenAI, which brought the world ChatGPT, is one of the global leaders in AI. Mr
Altman has ambitious plans for growth. But in order to deliver on them, he wants
to free OpenAI from the non-for-profit company that owns it.
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That involves him essentially buying his own company from the non-profit board
that formally owns it. It’s rumoured the sum he was considering paying was
around $40bn (£32.3bn).
In China’s Silicon Valley, where founder of DeepSeek Liang Wenfeng keeps a low
profile
Elon Musk launches $97bn bid to buy ChatGPT-maker OpenAI
Paris AI summit: Regulation, innovation and US dominance all on the agenda
So Musk’s far higher offer puts the not-for-profit board in a tricky situation.
If they refuse Mr Musk’s offer, can they accept a far lower one from Mr Altman
and still be doing their job according to the rules of the company’s non-profit
status?
Or could Mr Musk have effectively forced Mr Altman to pay more than double for
his own company?
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It’s part of a long-running feud between the pair, who co-founded OpenAI as a
non-profit entity for the benefit of humanity. And one that won’t be of much
interest to the political leaders convening in Paris.
But it does speak to a concern AI safety campaigners have long held when it
comes to the technology.
How can we trust AI when it’s controlled by a few, often capricious,
billionaires?
What further worries campaigners is that AI safety and regulation have been
given short-shrift at the summit.
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In his address, US vice president JD Vance said the new “industrial revolution”
that AI promises “will never come to pass if overregulation deters innovators
from taking the risks necessary”.
European leaders, who have long held a tougher stance on AI regulation, seem to
be softening their stance too.
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Concerned, perhaps, that if they don’t follow America they won’t be able to
attract AI firms to their countries and have their own share of the power AI
promises to bring.
