SAN FRANCISCO: Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is seeking up to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming the companies benefited unfairly from his early support of the artificial intelligence startup.
In a court filing submitted on Friday ahead of a jury trial, Musk argued that OpenAI gained between $65.5 billion and $109.4 billion, while Microsoft gained $13.3 billion to $25.1 billion, from his early financial backing and involvement when OpenAI was founded in 2015.
Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018 and now runs rival AI company xAI, alleges that OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit mission by restructuring into a for-profit entity, violating the principles under which he supported the organisation.
According to the filing, Musk contributed around $38 million, accounting for 60% of OpenAI’s early seed funding, helped recruit key staff, introduced founders to influential contacts, and lent credibility to the project during its formative years.
OpenAI has dismissed the lawsuit as “baseless”, calling it part of a harassment campaign, while Microsoft has said there is no evidence it aided or benefited unlawfully. Both companies have asked the court to limit testimony from Musk’s financial expert, calling the damage calculations “unverifiable” and “implausible.”
A federal judge in Oakland, California, has ruled that the case will proceed to a jury trial, expected to begin in April. Musk may also seek punitive damages and potential injunctions if either company is found liable.