In an update on the bid by an Elon Musk-led consortium to buy the non-profit that controls OpenAI, Musk’s lawyers have reportedly stated in a court filing that they will withdraw the $97.4 billion bid if the AI startup drops its plans to become a for-profit entity.
Musk is trying hard to keep OpenAI from becoming a for-profit entity, even filing a case against Altman in August. Musk co-founded the artificial intelligence startup with Sam Altman but left the company in 2018 after a disagreement with Altman and other cofounders over OpenAI’s direction and funding.
The filing noted that Musk will withdraw the bid if the OpenAI board is “prepared to preserve the charity’s mission and stipulate to take the ‘for sale’ sign off its assets by halting its conversion. “
Otherwise, “the charity must be compensated by what an arms-length buyer will pay for its assets.”
-The filing in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, said, as reported by Reuters.
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In its filing with the same court on Wednesday, OpenAI said that Musk’s bid to buy OpenAI contradicts the arguments he is making in court that the startup’s assets cannot be transferred for private gain. It seems to be “an improper bid to undermine a competitor.” Even though Musk seemingly wants OpenAI to retain its non-profit structure, OpenAI noted that in his bid, he wants OpenAI to be sold to himself.
“In this Court, Musk argues that OpenAI, Inc.’s assets cannot be ‘transferred away’ for ‘private gain. But out of court, those constraints evidently do not apply, so long as Musk and his allies are the buyers. Musk would have OpenAI, Inc. transfer all of its assets to him, for his economic benefit and that of his competing AI business and hand-picked private investors.”
-OpenAI said in a legal filing.
It is to be noted here that OpenAI is under no obligation to consider the bid.
“The independent Board’s sole fiduciary duty is to the mission of ensuring AGI benefits all of humanity. Respectfully, it is not up to a competitor to decide what is in the best interests of OpenAI’s mission.”
-Andrew Nussbaum, counsel to the OpenAI Board at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
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14. AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) provides a leading marketing platform powered by AI technology. On February 13, Bank of America Securities analyst Omar Dessouky reiterated a “Buy” rating on the stock and set a price target of $580.00. Dessouky’s buy rating is a testament to Applovin’s strong performance and future growth potential. Q4 was a surprising success for the company, largely driven by its Advertising segment. The segment reportedly outperformed expectations owing to its eCommerce pilot and continuous improvements in the model. As a result, eCommerce revenue significantly increased and there was a 7% quarter-over-quarter growth in net revenue from mobile game advertisers. Moreover, Applovin’s AI Engine also proved effective in various eCommerce categories which in turn positively impacted the company’s financials. Looking ahead, management provided conservative guidance for Q1 2025, but ongoing advancements in self-learning models for eCommerce and gaming suggest optimism for the company. Applovin also plans on launching a self-service solution by the first half of the year, expanding its reach to over 10 million global eCommerce merchants.
13. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 60
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is an American technology company that provides information technology and networking services. On February 13, Rosenblatt analyst Mike Genovese upgraded the stock to “Buy” from Neutral with a price target of $80, up from $66. The rating, issued after the company’s earnings report yesterday, discussed positive factors related to the stock.
The analyst noted that Cisco exceeded consensus on both revenues and EPS, with an increase in revenues of 9% year-over-year to $14.0B and an EPS of 94c (up 8%). The analyst further highlighted that Cisco deserves multiple expansion due to growth in software subscriptions and also because artificial intelligence is driving more of Cisco’s total business. In Q2, AI infrastructure orders with Web Scalers were more than $350M, which brought the year-to-date total to $700M. This puts the company on track to exceed $1B of AI infrastructure orders in FY25.
“Other positives, supporting the upgrade, were triple-digit growth Y/Y in Web Scale orders and greater than 20% growth in Telco orders. Security revenues and orders more than doubled year-over-year. Cisco said it starting to see AI orders from Enterprise customers.”