Elon Musk-Led Consortium Bids $97.4 Billion for OpenAI Control, Sparking Controversy

First Thing: Musk-led group bids $97.4bn for control of OpenAI

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the offer will not be accepted. Plus, $500m of food aid could spoil amid USAid cuts Elon Musk leads a consortium of investors that on Monday submitted a bid of $97.4bn for "all assets" of the nonprofit that controls OpenAI, with Musk escalating his feud with OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman. Altman posted on X that the bid would not be accepted. OpenAI, which operates ChatGPT, was co-founded as a nonprofit in 2015 by Altman and Musk. It has been working to restructure itself away from its original nonprofit status. Musk, the world's richest man, left OpenAI in 2019 and started his own AI company, xAI. He has since tussled with Altman over the direction of the company: he sued OpenAI over the company's restructuring plans last year, dropped the suit, then refiled it. After nearly 10 years of Liberal rule in Canada, a deepening cost of living crisis had soured public support for Justin Trudeau and pollsters predicted the Conservative party, led by Pierre Poilievre, would seize a convincing majority of seat. But since Donald Trump suggested the US might take over Canada - with threats ranging from "economic coercion" to outright annexation - the mood has shifted, and Canada has seen a groundswell of visceral patriotism. One poll, from Ipsos, found that the Conservatives had shed roughly 12 points of support within two weeks, and another found that 40% of Canadians felt Mark Carney - a Liberal and the former governor of the Bank of England - was best suited to face off against Trump, with only 26% saying Poilievre. Donald Trump has warned that if all the Israeli hostages held in Gaza are not returned by Saturday at noon he would propose canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and let "all hell break loose". Speaking to reporters, the president also said he might withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt if those countries do not take Palestinian refugees being relocated from Gaza. Trump's comments came after Hamas said it was delaying the release of hostages indefinitely over "violations" of the ceasefire deal, prompting Israel's defence minister to put the country's military on alert with orders to prepare for "any scenario in Gaza". Nearly half a billion dollars of food aid is at risk of spoilage following the decision of Donald Trump and Elon Musk's "Doge" agency to make cuts to USAid, according to an inspector general report. The decision has already caused chaos and devastation, such as in Malawi, one of the most aid-dependent countries. Weed? Moss tied in thread. Crack? Organic shea butter. Cocaine bricks? Shrink-wrapped foam blocks. Designers reveal the secrets of faking drugs onscreen. Breaking Bad's production designer said the fake meth was so realistic, it sometimes got stolen from set. A Missouri-based company that profiled hundreds of food and environmental health advocates has said it has halted operations, amid backlash after a Guardian investigation. The company, v-Fluence, said it would shut its database of more than 500 environmental advocates, scientists, politicians and others seen as opponents of pesticides and genetically modified crops. "When EA surprise-dropped a rerelease of The Sims 1 and 2 last weekend to celebrate the series' 25th anniversary, with all expansions included (my nine-year-old self's dream) naturally I was compelled to return to my happy place," writes Bex April May. But, on returning, she found that "The Sims 1 is a capitalist nightmare where survival trumps self-actualisation". First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you're not already signed up, subscribe now. If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email [email protected]

FirstFT: Elon Musk-led group offers $100bn to take control of OpenAI

This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Good morning. We start with the latest chapter in Elon Musk and Sam Altman's long-running feud over OpenAI. Also in today's newsletter: Elon Musk and a group of co-investors have submitted a near-$100bn bid for the non-profit that controls OpenAI, complicating chief executive Sam Altman's attempt to convert the start-up to a for-profit entity. Musk submitted the bid to OpenAI's board of directors yesterday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Shortly after the Wall Street Journal first reported the unsolicited approach, Altman said on social media site X, "no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want". Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X. Altman is in the process of converting the ChatGPT maker into a for-profit, moving the company away from its roots as a non-profit research organisation. Musk, whose start-up xAI is a direct competitor to OpenAI, has made multiple attempts to derail that effort. Read more about the latest salvo in the bitter rivalry between the Tesla boss and Altman. And here's what else we're keeping tabs on today: 1. Hamas said yesterday that it was postponing the release of Israeli hostages planned for this Saturday "until further notice", accusing Israel of not sticking to a complex ceasefire agreement between the two sides. The move is the latest -- and potentially most serious -- in a series of spats that have threatened the fragile deal. 2. BYD has unveiled an advanced self-driving system that it plans to install on its entire model line-up. Dubbed "God's Eye", the driving system was developed in-house by BYD and will equip the Chinese automaker's mass-market models with features commonly only found on upscale electric vehicles. 3. A federal judge has ordered Donald Trump's administration to immediately lift a block on payments to the US's premier medical research institute, and to unlock billions of dollars in funding for clean energy projects. The judge said the White House's attempt to freeze federal funds was "likely unconstitutional". 4. Tokyo Metro's chief has signalled further fare increases as the recently listed company seeks to win over shareholders by cutting costs and raising prices to cope with falling ridership. Tokyo's subway system is considered one of the world's most affordable and efficient -- another price increase would add to evidence that steady inflation has returned to Japan. 5. The Cook Islands will this week sign a strategic agreement with China, in a move that has rattled the south Pacific country's traditional partner New Zealand and deepened concerns about Beijing's influence in the region. New Zealand's foreign minister said that the government was "blindsided" by the move. Here's what the agreement will cover. Rene Haas, the chief executive of UK chip designer Arm Holdings, speaks to Matthew Garrahan about the future of AI and why he is not afraid of China's DeepSeek. The nuclear energy industry, infamous for massive cost overruns and endless delays, is hopeful that building exact copies of established reactors can help keep new projects on track. Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann sits down for Lunch with the FT to discuss the cheating allegations that derailed his career -- and how he plans to restore his reputation and become world champion.