According to the latest reports, OpenAI is investigating whether Meta was involved in Elon Musk's $97 billion acquisition offer for the company. OpenAI's lawyers issued a subpoena to Meta in Musk's lawsuit against it, requesting evidence of any collaboration or investment plans related to Musk and his newly established artificial intelligence company, xAI.
Image source note: The image is generated by AI, and the image licensing service is Midjourney
Musk proposed this acquisition offer in February, and it is reported that he communicated with Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg about it, including discussing potential financing arrangements. OpenAI's lawyers stated that they had issued a subpoena to Meta in June, requesting relevant documents to verify if Meta had participated in Musk's acquisition plan.
Meta has objected to OpenAI's subpoena and refused further comments. A Meta spokesperson revealed that Zuckerberg and Meta had not signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding Musk's acquisition proposal. In addition, OpenAI's lawyers also requested the court to provide all documents and communications related to "any actual or potential restructuring or capital restructuring of OpenAI."
In its dispute with Musk, Meta is also actively developing its own AI technology. According to other legal documents, Meta's executives showed enthusiasm for developing an AI model that could surpass OpenAI's GPT-4 in 2023. However, by early 2025, Meta's AI model had not met industry standards, which caused Zuckerberg's anger.
Notably, Zuckerberg has recently increased efforts to recruit top AI researchers from OpenAI, including Zhao Shengjia, co-creator of ChatGPT, who currently leads research work at Meta's new AI department, the Meta Super Intelligence Lab. Meanwhile, Meta has invested $1.4 billion in Scale AI and has contacted multiple AI labs to explore the possibility of acquisitions.
The potential collaboration between Musk and Zuckerberg highlights OpenAI's sense of threat in the AI field. Two years ago, Musk claimed he would have a physical fight with Zuckerberg in a cage, although this match did not materialize. As AI technology develops, these two competitors may be willing to put aside past grudges and seek new opportunities for cooperation.
The background of this lawsuit is Musk's dissatisfaction with OpenAI's decision to transform its profitable departments into a nonprofit organization, which he believes violates OpenAI's original mission. Meta's lawyers have asked the court to dismiss OpenAI's request for evidence, arguing that Musk and xAI can provide any relevant information, claiming that Meta's internal discussions are irrelevant to the case.
Key points:
🌟 Musk and Zuckerberg may have communicated about the acquisition of OpenAI, and OpenAI has requested relevant evidence from Meta.
🔍 Meta has objected to OpenAI's subpoena and stated that it did not participate in Musk's acquisition proposal.
🚀 Meta is increasing investments in AI development and simultaneously recruiting top talent from OpenAI.
