Investing.com-- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in an internal memo that the artificial intelligence start-up’s board of directors plans to reject a $97 billion takeover bid from Elon Musk, The Information reported on Monday evening.
Altman circulated an email stating that OpenAI’s board intends to establish that it has no interest in Musk’s “supposed bid,” The Information report said.
The report indicates that OpenAI’s 10-person board is backing Altman in his fight against Musk, who has long attempted to block the AI start-up from transitioning into a for-profit company.
Altman had apparently rejected Musk’s offer on the social media platform X in a post saying “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”
Musk responded to the post by calling Altman a “swindler.”
Reports on Monday said an investor group led by Musk was offering about $97 billion to take over OpenAI and merge it with Musk’s xAI, his private AI venture.
The Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO has harshened his rhetoric against OpenAI and Altman in recent weeks, criticizing the company for allegedly losing its vision of the public good. In November, he had asked a judge to block OpenAI from converting into a for-profit company.
Musk had co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 as a non-profit, but had left before the company’s jump in popularity.