Defeat for Elon Musk: US jury dismisses lawsuit against OpenAI

This eliminates the basis for the accusation that OpenAI has deviated from its original goal. Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop for the benefit of humanity. Tesla boss Musk had the Microsoft-backed start-up and its boss Sam Altman accused of neglecting the security of the technology and instead focusing on enriching investors.

Musk’s lawyer reserved the right to appeal after the verdict. However, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dampened the chances of success, saying the issue of statute of limitations was a factual decision. “There is a wealth of evidence supporting the jury’s finding, which is why I was prepared to dismiss the case immediately,” she said.

The decision was preceded by an eleven-day trial in which both sides repeatedly accused each other of greed. Musk’s attorney, Steven Molo, said in his closing argument that Altman’s credibility was the focus. OpenAI lawyer William Savitt countered that Musk himself was only looking for profit. “Mr. Musk may have a golden touch in some areas, but not in AI,” Savitt said.

OpenAI before IPO

The dispute revolves around the transformation of OpenAI. The company was founded in 2015 by Altman, Musk and others as a nonprofit AI research institution. Musk left the board of directors in 2018. A year later, a for-profit subsidiary was added to collect billions in investments from Microsoft and other donors.

Musk accused Altman and board chairman Greg Brockman of manipulating him into donating $38 million and turning the startup into a personal “money printing machine” behind his back. He described the action as “theft from a charity.” OpenAI denied this and explained that Musk initially promoted the profit orientation himself and only sued when his plan to move to the top of the company failed.

The ruling comes at a crucial time for the AI ​​industry. OpenAI is preparing for a possible IPO that could value the company at $1 trillion. According to a Microsoft manager, the software company has already invested more than $100 billion in the partnership with OpenAI. At the same time, Musk is also upgrading: his AI company xAI is now part of his space company SpaceX, which is also about to make its stock market debut. This could even exceed OpenAI’s IPO in terms of volume.