OpenAI has said that what looked like an offer to acquire a teenage entrepreneur's startup concept was a bit of stage banter.

News
August 19, 2026
OpenAI clarifies ‘acquisition’ offer for Irish teen's startup idea was a joke
AI giant tells Irish Independent it will not pursue decentralised internet idea
2 min read
Éanna Kelly is a contributing editor at Sifted, and writes Startup Life , a weekly newsletter on what it takes to build a startup. Follow him on X and LinkedIn

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