Elon Musk has offered to buy the non-profit part of OpenAI for $97.4 billion.

The pitch, which Musk says is backed by a group of investors, comes as OpenAI is trying to shift to being for-profit, raise tens of billions, and spend them on the data center initiative Stargate.

Musk, an outspoken critic of OpenAI's move to be for-profit, announced the move earlier this week. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the company has yet to receive a formal offer.

The generative AI business is currently technically a nonprofit with a for-profit subsidiary, but OpenAI is planning to convert to a public benefit corporation that is for-profit, with a non-profit division. Altman is expected to receive equity as a result.

At the same time, OpenAI is in the midst of trying to raise $30-40 billion at a valuation of $300-340 billion. Much of that money would then be ploughed into Stargate, the $500 billion joint venture to develop AI data centers in the US.

OpenAI is currently expected to invest $19 billion in Stargate, but requires this funding round to close to be able to have enough cash to do so.

The non-profit board of OpenAI does not have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize returns for investors, but does have to negotiate a reasonable valuation of OpenAI’s assets as part of the shift to public benefit. The non-profit is expected to have a 25 percent stake in the for-profit endeavor, valuing it at $37.5 billion in the latest funding round and $85 billion in the potential upcoming one - below Musk's possible bid.

Taking a lower offer from Altman than alternatives could be seen as a breach of fiduciary duty.

Altman rejected the offer and told staff that he was backed by the board, The Information reports.

Musk has sued OpenAI multiple times, including for plans to transition to a for-profit, and is currently trying to block the move in court.

The owner of rival xAI donated less than $45 million to the non-profit when it was formed (however, he claimed it was $100 million), and said "It does seem weird that something can be a nonprofit, open-source and somehow transform itself into a for-profit, closed source." Musk himself tried to make OpenAI for-profit, as part of Tesla.

"OpenAI is not for sale, the OpenAI mission is not for sale," Altman said on BloombergTV. "Elon tries all sorts of things for a long time, this is 'this week's episode.'

"I think he's just trying to slow us down, he obviously is a competitor. He's working hard and he's raised a lot of money for xAI and they're trying to compete with us from a technological perspective, and I wish he'd compete by building a better project."

Altman added: "I think his whole life is from a position of insecurity, I feel for the guy. I don't think he's a happy person."