Latest news with #Toberoff
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
OpenAI's for-profit U-turn apparently isn't enough for Elon Musk
Elon Musk apparently is not satisfied with the announcement that OpenAI ( would ensure its nonprofit remains in control of the artificial intelligence upstart. Musk's lawyer, Marc Toberoff, said OpenAI's latest corporate reshuffling plan changes nothing about Musk's legal claims against the creator of ChatGPT, according to Reuters and Bloomberg. Toberoff told the media outlets that transitioning OpenAI's profit-seeking limited liability company to a public benefit corporation amounts to a "transparent dodge" that fails to address the core issues in Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and that it "changes nothing." Musk, who helped start OpenAI and is also the CEO of Tesla (TSLA), has alleged that transitioning OpenAI to a for-profit business would violate OpenAI's legal responsibility to carry out its original mission of ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. According to Toberoff, OpenAI's new restructuring plan would still violate its mission if it continues to develop closed-source AI, rather than open-source AI, for the benefit of private parties. Elon Musk, left, and Sam Altman, middle, in 2015. (for Vanity Fair) · Mike Windle via Getty Images The problem for Musk, Toberoff said, according to the report, is that OpenAI's charitable assets have been, and still will be, transferred for the benefit of private persons, including Musk's co-founder and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Altman's investors, and Microsoft (MSFT). Bloomberg reported that Microsoft has yet to sign off on the new OpenAI structure. The decision is bound to impact Musk's ongoing litigation against the startup that on Thursday received a judge's permission to go forward on multiple claims. It's unclear how the judge, Yvonne Gonzales Rogers, a federal district court judge in California's Northern District, will respond to OpenAI's about-face. The judge ruled last week that some of Musk's claims against OpenAI could proceed to trial and prevented others from going forward. The case is currently set for trial in March 2026. OpenAI began in 2015 as a nonprofit under the name OpenAI Inc., a nod to its mission of advancing humanity instead of pursuing profits. Musk helped fund OpenAI with a $45 million donation before leaving the organization. Things got more complicated in 2019 when Altman and his team created a for-profit subsidiary to raise outside venture capital — including billions from Microsoft. It was structured in such a way that the for-profit subsidiary, technically owned by a holding company owned by OpenAI employees and investors, remained under the control of the nonprofit and its board of directors while giving its biggest backer, Microsoft, no board seats and no voting power.
The Hill
10-02-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Elon Musk-led group proposes buying OpenAI for $97.4 billion. OpenAI CEO says ‘no thank you'
A group of investors led by Elon Musk is offering about $97.4 billion to buy OpenAI, escalating a legal dispute with the artificial intelligence company that Musk helped found. Musk and his own AI startup, xAI, and a consortium of investment firms want to take control of the ChatGPT maker and revert it to its original charitable mission as a nonprofit research lab, according to Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman quickly rejected the deal on Musk's social platform X, saying, 'no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.' Musk bought Twitter, now called X, for $44 billion in 2022. Musk and Altman, who together helped start OpenAI in 2015 and later competed over who should lead it, have been in a long-running feud over the startup's direction since Musk resigned from its board in 2018. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the company last year, first in a California state court and later in federal court, alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good. Musk had invested about $45 million in the startup from its founding until 2018, Toberoff has said. Musk and OpenAI lawyers faced off in a California federal court last week as a judge weighed Musk's request for a court order that would block the ChatGPT maker from converting itself to a for-profit company. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers hasn't yet ruled on Musk's request but in the courtroom said it was a 'stretch' for Musk to claim he will be irreparably harmed if she doesn't intervene to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its planned for-profit transition. But the judge also raised concerns about OpenAI and its relationship with business partner Microsoft and said she wouldn't stop the case from moving to trial as soon as next year so a jury can decide. 'It is plausible that what Mr. Musk is saying is true. We'll find out. He'll sit on the stand,' she said. Along with Musk and xAI, others backing the bid announced Monday include Baron Capital Group, Valor Management, Atreides Management, Vy Fund, Emanuel Capital Management and Eight Partners VC. Toberoff said in a statement that if Altman and OpenAI's current board 'are intent on becoming a fully for-profit corporation, it is vital that the charity be fairly compensated for what its leadership is taking away from it: control over the most transformative technology of our time.' Musk's attorney also shared a letter he sent in early January to the attorneys general of California and Delaware. 'As both your offices must ensure any such transactional process relating to OpenAI's charitable assets provides at least fair market value to protect the public's beneficial interest, we assume you will provide a process for competitive bidding to actually determine that fair market value,' Toberoff wrote, asking for more information on the terms and timing of that bidding process.
Arab News
10-02-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Elon Musk-led group proposes buying OpenAI for $97.4 billion. OpenAI CEO says ‘no thank you'
A group of investors led by Elon Musk is offering about $97.4 billion to buy OpenAI, escalating a legal dispute with the artificial intelligence company that Musk helped and his own AI startup, xAI, and a consortium of investment firms want to take control of the ChatGPT maker and revert it to its original charitable mission as a nonprofit research lab, according to Musk's attorney Marc CEO Sam Altman quickly rejected the deal on Musk's social platform X, saying, 'no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.'Musk bought Twitter, now called X, for $44 billion in and Altman, who together helped start OpenAI in 2015 and later competed over who should lead it, have been in a long-running feud over the startup's direction since Musk resigned from its board in an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the company last year, first in a California state court and later in federal court, alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good. Musk had invested about $45 million in the startup from its founding until 2018, Toberoff has and OpenAI lawyers faced off in a California federal court last week as a judge weighed Musk's request for a court order that would block the ChatGPT maker from converting itself to a for-profit District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers hasn't yet ruled on Musk's request but in the courtroom said it was a 'stretch' for Musk to claim he will be irreparably harmed if she doesn't intervene to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its planned for-profit the judge also raised concerns about OpenAI and its relationship with business partner Microsoft and said she wouldn't stop the case from moving to trial as soon as next year so a jury can decide.'It is plausible that what Mr. Musk is saying is true. We'll find out. He'll sit on the stand,' she with Musk and xAI, others backing the bid announced Monday include Baron Capital Group, Valor Management, Atreides Management, Vy Fund, Emanuel Capital Management and Eight Partners said in a statement that if Altman and OpenAI's current board 'are intent on becoming a fully for-profit corporation, it is vital that the charity be fairly compensated for what its leadership is taking away from it: control over the most transformative technology of our time.'Musk's attorney also shared a letter he sent in early January to the attorneys general of California and Delaware.'As both your offices must ensure any such transactional process relating to OpenAI's charitable assets provides at least fair market value to protect the public's beneficial interest, we assume you will provide a process for competitive bidding to actually determine that fair market value,' Toberoff wrote, asking for more information on the terms and timing of that bidding process.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk-led group proposes buying OpenAI for $97.4 billion. OpenAI CEO says 'no thank you'
A group of investors led by Elon Musk is offering about $97.4 billion to buy OpenAI, escalating a legal dispute with the artificial intelligence company that Musk helped found. Musk and his own AI startup, xAI, and a consortium of investment firms want to take control of the ChatGPT maker and revert it to its original charitable mission as a nonprofit research lab, according to Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman quickly rejected the deal on Musk's social platform X, saying, 'no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.' Musk bought Twitter, now called X, for $44 billion in 2022. Musk and Altman, who together helped start OpenAI in 2015 and later competed over who should lead it, have been in a long-running feud over the startup's direction since Musk resigned from its board in 2018. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company last year, first in a California state court and later in federal court, alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good. Musk had invested about $45 million in the startup from its founding until 2018, Toberoff said in court last week. Musk and OpenAI lawyers faced off in a California federal court last week as a judge weighed Musk's request for a court order that would block the ChatGPT maker from converting itself to a for-profit company. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers hasn't yet ruled on Musk's request but in court said it was a 'stretch' for Musk to claim he will be irreparably harmed if she doesn't intervene to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its planned transition toward becoming a for-profit corporation. But the judge also raised concerns about OpenAI and its relationship with business partner Microsoft and said she wouldn't stop the case from moving to trial as soon as next year so a jury can decide. 'It is plausible that what Mr. Musk is saying is true. We'll find out. He'll sit on the stand,' she said. Along with Musk and xAI, others backing the bid include Baron Capital Group, Valor Management, Atreides Management, Vy Fund, Emanuel Capital Management and Eight Partners VC. Toberoff said in a statement that if Altman and OpenAI's current board 'are intent on becoming a fully for-profit corporation, it is vital that the charity be fairly compensated for what its leadership is taking away from it: control over the most transformative technology of our time.' Toberoff added that Musk, as an OpenAI co-founder and successful tech leader, 'is the person best positioned to protect and grow OpenAI's technology.' Sign in to access your portfolio
NBC News
10-02-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Elon Musk and investors offering $97.4 billion for control of OpenAI, WSJ reports
Elon Musk is leading a group of investors in offering to buy control of OpenAI for $97.4 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The bid is for the nonprofit that oversees the artificial intelligence startup, the Journal reported, adding that Musk's attorney, Marc Toberoff, said he submitted the offer on Monday. The WSJ cited a statement from Musk provided by Toberoff, saying 'It's time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was.' In a post on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote, 'no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.' Musk then replied to the OpenAI chief on X calling him a ' swindler, ' and in a reply to a different user, called him ' Scam Altman. ' Musk, who is a top adviser to President Donald Trump, is in the midst of a heated legal and public relations battle with Altman. They were two of the co-founders of OpenAI in 2015, establishing the entity as a nonprofit focused on AI research. OpenAI has since emerged as a giant in generative AI, launching ChatGPT in 2022 and setting off a wave of investment in new tools and infrastructure for next-generation AI products and services. SoftBank is close to finalizing a $40 billion investment in OpenAI at a $260 billion valuation, sources told CNBC's David Faber last week. Musk now has a competitor in the AI market, a startup called xAI, and is suing OpenAI, accusing it of antitrust violations and to try and keep it from converting into a for-profit corporation. Meanwhile, OpenAI partnered with SoftBank and Oracle in a project announced by Trump right after his inauguration called Stargate, which calls on the companies to invest billions of dollars in AI infrastructure in the U.S. Musk's offer is backed by xAI, which the Journal reports could merge with OpenAI if a deal were to occur. Other investors in the bid include Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, 8VC and Ari Emanuel's investment fund, the paper reported. Toberoff sent a letter to the attorneys general in California and Delaware on Jan. 7, asking that bidding be opened up for OpenAI.
