OpenAI says Elon Musk's takeover bid contradicts his lawsuit against it: Report

Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI with CEO Sam Altman in 2015 as a not-for-profit entity, but sued it in August 2024 after it decided to become a for-profit entity.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) giant OpenAI said billionaire Elon Musk's bid to buy it clashes with his lawsuit against the company, news agency Reuters reported.

Elon Musk and Sam Altman had co-founded OpenAI as a non-profit in 2015. (AFP)

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI with its CEO Sam Altman in 2015 as a not-for-profit entity, had sued it in August 2024 after it decided to become a for-profit entity, arguing that it shouldn't be for private gain.

However, this came long after Musk had left the organisation, much before the end of 2022, when its flagship chatbot, ChatGPT became famous.

Now, a consortium of investors led by Musk offered $97.4 billion to buy the assets of OpenAI's nonprofit this Monday.

OpenAI wrote in its Federal court filing that this offer contradicts his earlier lawsuit and that it is "an improper bid to undermine a competitor."

This is because Musk's court filings asserted that OpenAI's assets must remain within a charitable trust and should not be transferred for private gain.

After Musk had left OpenAI, he founded a competing AI startup called xAI in 2023.

OpenAI had stated that it wants to become a for-profit organization in order to secure the capital needed for developing the best AI models.