Elon Musk is suing Sam Altman and OpenAI for more than $134bn, asking a court to restore the organisation’s original non-profit charter, court filings show. Jury selection is due to start in Oakland on Monday. The suit centres on OpenAI’s shift from its 2015 non-profit mission to a structure that allowed for‑profit affiliates and outside investors, and the outcome could affect the company’s governance and planned public listing.

Background: how a research lab became a commercial force

OpenAI began in 2015 as a nonprofit research organisation with a stated aim to "advance digital intelligence in the way that's most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return," the company’s mission statement said. The founders framed the project as public-minded research rather than a typical Silicon Valley start-up seeking profit.

But the group’s structure evolved. OpenAI created for-profit affiliates and entered commercial arrangements that drew outside capital. That transformation sits at the heart of the dispute before the court.

Elon Musk, an early backer and one-time board figure, provided tens of millions in seed funding—about $38m, according to court filings—and later left the organisation in 2018 amid internal disputes. He has since launched his own AI venture and has publicly criticised OpenAI’s direction.

Sam Altman stayed at OpenAI and steered the company through deals and product launches, including the release of ChatGPT and deeper collaboration with Microsoft. OpenAI is now preparing to list publicly, with some market commentary placing a potential valuation near $1tn.

The legal claims: charity, contract and control

Musk’s 2024 lawsuit accuses Altman and others of breaching the founding agreement by converting much of OpenAI into entities that pursue profit. The complaint frames the dispute as a shift from a nonprofit scientific effort to a monetised enterprise.

  • Primary remedies sought: removal of key executives (including Mr Altman and Greg Brockman), a judicial reset of the organisation’s charter, and tens of billions in damages Musk says should be returned to the nonprofit arm.
  • Defence position: OpenAI and Altman say Musk left in 2018 and that restructuring was a legitimate response to the capital and governance demands of advanced AI development.

High-profile theatre: witnesses, evidence and what's at stake

The litigation promises extensive disclosure: unsealed court documents already include emails, texts and diary entries that the parties argue illuminate founders’ early thinking. Filings and press accounts show personal animosities as well as strategic disagreements over the pace of commercialisation.

  • Possible witnesses: both Musk and Altman may testify, and other prominent tech figures including Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella and current or former OpenAI board members are mentioned in court papers.
  • Practical stakes: Musk asks the court to force a return to the organisation’s original nonprofit charter and to unwind certain for-profit arrangements—remedies that could upend OpenAI’s governance and affect its planned public listing at about a $1tn valuation.

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Jury selection begins Monday in Oakland before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

This article was created with AI assistance.