Musk will withdraw OpenAI bid if ChatGPT maker stays nonprofit, lawyers say
OpenAI was initially founded as a non-profit in 2015, and later converted to a "capped profit" model in 2019.
Elon Musk will withdraw his $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI's non-profit arm if the ChatGPT maker stops its conversion into a for-profit entity, according to a court filing.
"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," read the filing, which was submitted Wednesday to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
"Otherwise, the charity must be compensated by what an arms-length buyer will pay for its assets," it added.
On Monday, Musk, along with his artificial intelligence company xAI and a consortium of investors, launched a bid to acquire OpenAI's non-profit arm for $97.4 billion, accusing the firm and its CEO Sam Altman of abandoning its original mission to develop AI for good and of pursuing profits instead.
Altman has rebuffed the offer, telling CNBC that the move is just an effort by Musk to "slow down a competitor."