OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is plotting a self-buyout deal at cheap valuation

An interesting narrative is making rounds on Twitter (now X), and it all started when a certain Nathan shared a post yesterday suggesting that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is secretly working on a plan to sell the company to himself at a dirt-cheap price of $40 billion. For context, it’s valued at $150 billion.

As expected, the post immediately led to questions about why the non-profit controlling OpenAI would ever agree to such a deal.

OpenAI’s non-profit was designed to prioritize humanity, not shareholders. But Sam allegedly has a plan. He’s apparently working to convince the non-profit board, where he happens to sit, to accept his low offer. By the way, this is the same board that fired him last year before he made that dramatic comeback.

Altman and Musk continue to feud

Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, hates Sam’s guts and has repeatedly called him a scammer. According to Musk, they used to be close friends before Altman screwed him over with the project. As Cryptopolitan reported just a few hours ago, Elon and a group of investors made an offer of $97.4 billion to buy OpenAI.

Naturally, Sam rejected it in seconds. Instead, he fired off a jab at Elon on X, which Elon owns, saying, “No thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”

“Not particularly,” Sam responded when reporters asked him about it in real life, then accused Elon of trying to slow OpenAI down to help his own rival AI company, xAI. Perhaps the most hilarious aspect of this whole beef is that the boys still follow each other on Twitter.

How Sam could pull off the OpenAI self-buyout

Anyway, according to Nathan, Sam’s buyout plan centers on a technical loophole. OpenAI operates as a for-profit company, but the non-profit owns it. To take it private, Sam needs the non-profit to sell the for-profit to him. But this guy is both the buyer and part of the selling entity. As a board member of the non-profit, he has influence on the decision. Critics are calling it a conflict of interest of colossal proportions.

Why would the non-profit board even sell at $40 billion when they’ve seen much higher offers? Well no one knows, but it is highly suspicious.

Meanwhile, Elon recently questioned OpenAI’s involvement in President Donald Trump’s $500 billion “Stargate” project, a joint venture that’ll reportedly boost US AI infrastructure. OpenAI had committed to helping deploy $100 billion to support the project, but Elon didn’t think they had the cash to back it up. “They don’t actually have the money,” were his exact words, which have become a meme now on X.

Sam hit back hard. “I’m not the one who tweeted ‘funding secured,’” he said, referring to Elon’s infamous 2018 tweet about taking Tesla private at $420 per share. Elon’s tweet triggered a federal investigation and forced him to settle with the SEC for $20 million. Sam didn’t miss the chance to twist the knife.

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