Elon Musk is demanding $79 billion to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing the two companies of fraud and breaking OpenAI’s original nonprofit mission.
In a court filing on Friday, Musk’s lawyers said he deserves a share of OpenAI’s current $500 billion valuation, arguing that both OpenAI and Microsoft made massive profits using ideas and funding Musk helped provide when he co-founded the company in 2015.
According to Musk’s legal team, OpenAI gained $65.5 billion to $109.4 billion, while Microsoft gained $13.3 billion to $25.1 billion from what they describe as “wrongful gains.”
Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018 and later launched his own AI company, xAI, in 2023. He now claims OpenAI violated its founding promise by shifting to a for-profit model in October and giving Microsoft a 27 percent stake.
OpenAI has rejected the lawsuit, calling it “baseless” and accusing Musk of harassment. Microsoft has declined to comment.
The legal battle escalates after a federal judge ruled that the case will go to a jury trial in late April in Oakland, California.
The lawsuit could become one of the largest and most important legal fights in the AI industry, with major implications for how AI companies are funded and controlled.
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