March 24, 2023

The Road Not Taken: Elon Musk And OpenAI In 2018

According to a new report from Semafor, Elon Musk tried — and failed — to take over ChatGPT creator OpenAI in 2018.

He was part of group that founded the AI lab in 2015 as a nonprofit, intending the firm to share research.

But by early 2018, says Semafor, Musk was worried the company was falling behind Google.

He reportedly offered to take direct control of OpenAI and run it himself but was rejected by other OpenAI founders including Sam Altman, now the firm’s CEO, and Greg Brockman, now its president

Semafor says he also reneged on a promise to supply $1 billion in funding, contributing only $100 million before he walked. 

Today, Elon Musk is a vocal critic of OpenAI, saying its current form is "not what I intended at all."

Last Friday, he tweeted a meme with the caption “Me realizing AI, the most powerful tool that mankind has ever created, is now in the hands of a ruthless corporate monopoly.”