xAI once bid $97.4 billion to buy OpenAI; behind the acquisition shell is a valuation battle.

CoinWorld News reports that xAI proposed a $97.4 billion offer in February 2025, aiming to acquire control of the non-profit organization OpenAI. This offer’s core purpose was to value OpenAI’s non-profit assets; Musk’s camp believes that for OpenAI to complete a restructuring, it must prove that its non-profit assets were not undervalued. The $97.4 billion bid provided regulators and courts with a market reference price. OpenAI subsequently rejected the offer, stating it was not for sale, and viewed the bid as Musk interfering with competitors. Later, OpenAI adjusted its restructuring plan, emphasizing that the non-profit organization would continue to control OpenAI Group PBC and hold equity in a for-profit entity valued at approximately $130 billion, in response to concerns that “public welfare assets are being transferred at undervalued prices.” On the fourth day of the trial, Jared Birchall was re-questioned, and he stated that the xAI bid was to reasonably value OpenAI’s non-profit assets but failed to clearly explain the source of the $97.4 billion valuation and its analytical process.