Elon Musk is seeking up to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming the companies unjustly benefited from his early support of OpenAI, according to a court filing made on Friday.
Musk argues that OpenAI gained between $65.5 billion and $109.4 billion, while Microsoft gained $13.3 billion to $25.1 billion, as a result of his initial financial backing and involvement when OpenAI was founded in 2015. He says he contributed approximately $38 million, accounting for about 60% of OpenAI’s seed funding, and played a key role in recruiting talent, connecting founders with strategic partners, and lending credibility to the venture.
The lawsuit centers on Musk’s allegation that OpenAI violated its original non-profit mission when it transitioned into a for-profit structure. OpenAI has dismissed the case as “baseless” and part of a broader harassment campaign, while Microsoft has stated there is no evidence it aided or abetted any wrongdoing.
A federal judge in Oakland, California, has ruled that the case will proceed to a jury trial, expected to begin in April. If successful, Musk may also pursue punitive damages and injunctive relief, though the exact remedies sought remain unspecified.
Musk left OpenAI in 2018 and now leads xAI, which develops the chatbot Grok, a competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Source: Reuters.