The group of investors includes X.AICorp., Baron Capita Group Inc., Valor Management LLC, Atreides Management LP, Vy Fund III LP, Emanuel Capital Management LLC and Eight Partners VC LLC, according to a statement distributed by the group's attorney, Marc Toberoff of Toberoff & Associates PC.
The investors are looking to "reestablish OpenAI as a safety-focused, open-source force for good," the statement said.
The statement confirms a Wall Street Journal report about the unsolicited bid, which noted that it adds a complication to Altman's plans to convert OpenAI into a for-profit company.
"If Sam Altman and the present OpenAI, Inc. board of directors 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 said in the statement.
Altman quickly indicated he was rejecting the bid on the Musk-owned X platform, stating, "No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want," in a reference to the former name of X.
Altman and Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a charity, but Altman is in the process of spinning out the nonprofit, the WSJ report noted. The two are embroiled in a legal battle, where Musk has accused OpenAI of betraying its original nonprofit mission by creating a for-profit arm.
According to Monday's statement, the investor group is "prepared to consider matching or exceeding higher bids."
--Editing by Emily Kokoll.
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