OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar suggested that Sam Altman and Elon Musk’s spat is distracting from “the bigger outcome we’re all looking for.”

Altman and Musk founded OpenAI together in 2015, with Musk leaving the then-nonprofit company in 2018 and Altman taking over as CEO in 2019. As OpenAI announced a new “Stargate Project” that includes a $500 billion investment across four years, Musk cast doubt that the company has the money, which prompted backlash from Altman, who disputed Musk by assuring the money was there.

Friar said she is “close to this deal” and feels “really good about where we’re at” while on Fox Business’s Mornings with Maria Bartiromo on Thursday.

“I think on Elon, he’s a competitor, but I want us to compete for the right things,” Friar said. “Let’s compete for great outcomes for consumers and businesses. Let’s compete for getting investment and jobs into the United States and also for our allies. Let’s compete on making sure that we are driving the right outcomes from a security perspective, too. Elon knows that.”

Musk’s rift began last year when he filed a lawsuit in March to keep OpenAI from launching an initial public offering and becoming a for-profit company. However, OpenAI claimed to have the blueprint to make the transition from Musk when he still worked there.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“This is the AI era and so getting caught in distractions amongst ourselves just feels like it’s going to slow down the bigger outcome that we’re all looking for,” Friar said.

Altman has since been tapped by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie to be a part of the transition team. Lurie beat incumbent Mayor London Breed in the last election with the help of donations from other tech leaders in artificial intelligence. While his transition team was largely made up of political figures, as a political novice, he included two businessmen: Altman and Mission Asset Fund CEO José Quiñonez.