Elon Musk and Sam Altman are basically in a rap battle | Equity Podcast

Tensions are running high in the AI world this week after Elon Musk made a staggering $97.4 billion bid to buy OpenAI (https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/11/how-musks-97-4b-bid-could-gum-up-openais-for-profit-conversion/) , a move that would mark one of the largest tech acquisitions in history – if it actually happens. Sam Altman shut the notion down fast, even going so far as to fire back with a post (https://x.com/sama/status/1889059531625464090?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1889059531625464090%7Ctwgr%5Eb085501f932d7f5bbb97e5035021e2a920ee0d73%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.abplive.com%2Ftechnology%2Felon-musk-openai-buy-sam-altman-response-x-twitter-usd-97-4-billion-diss-1750638) suggesting he’d buy X for a tenth of the price. But Musk’s bid itself does raise questions about potential roadblocks ahead for OpenAI.

Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity (https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/) podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff and Anthony Ha are breaking down the offer, the response, and what it means for the AI company’s future, plus other headlines from the week.

Listen to the full episode to hear about:

• What you missed from the Paris AI Action Summit (https://techcrunch.com/tag/france-ai-action-summit/) : who’s backing global AI opportunity and who’s calling it a missed opportunity (https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/11/anthropic-ceo-dario-amodei-calls-the-ai-action-summit-a-missed-opportunity/) .


• BNPL startup Tabby’s massive raise (https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/11/tabby-lands-160m-at-a-3-3b-valuation-as-it-expands-beyond-bnpl/) and $3.3 billion valuation, as well as its IPO ambitions in a turbulent fintech market.


• Archer Aviation’s $300 million boost (https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/11/archer-aviation-doubles-down-on-defense-aircraft-with-fresh-300m/) , and why its eVTOL development is leaning into defense.

Equity will be back with a new interview on Wednesday, so stay tuned!

Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. 

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780) , Overcast (https://overcast.fm/itunes1215439780/equity) , Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul_g94iCRgpQ) and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X (https://twitter.com/EquityPod) and Threads (https://www.threads.net/@equitypod) , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here (https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/) .

Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time.

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Post from TechCrunch on February 14, 2025

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