Open AI, Musk agree to fast tracked trial over for-profit shift
WEB DESK: Billionaire Elon Musk and Open AI jointly proposed a trial in December, according to a federal court filing on Friday. The parties agreed to delay a decision on whether the expedited case will be decided by a jury or solely by the judge, said the filing in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Legal Proceedings
The judge this month denied Musk’s request to pause the artificial intelligence group’s transition to a for-profit model but agreed to an expedited trial in the autumn, the latest turn in the high-stakes legal fight.
“We welcome the court’s March 4 decision rejecting Elon Musk’s latest attempt to slow down Open AI for his personal benefit,” Open AI said in a blog post on Friday.
Background and Allegations
Musk co-founded Open AI with Altman in 2015 but left before the company took off and subsequently founded the competing startup x AI in 2023. Last year, the CEO of Tesla and owner of the X social media platform sued Open AI and Altman, accusing Open AI of straying from its founding mission to develop AI for the good of humanity, not corporate profit.
Open AI and Altman have denied the allegations, while Altman alleges that Musk has been trying to slow down a competitor.
Implications of Lawsuit
At stake in the lawsuit is the Chat GPT maker’s transition to a for-profit model, which the startup says is crucial to raising more capital and competing well in the expensive AI race. Open AI’s last fundraising round, of $6.6 billion, and a new round of up to $40 billion under discussion with Soft Bank Group (9984.T), are conditioned on Open AI restructuring to remove the nonprofit’s control.
Friday’s filing comes weeks after Altman, who has said Open AI is not for sale, rejected a $97.4 billion unsolicited takeover bid from a Musk-led consortium with a “no thank you.”
