Elon Musk names Microsoft and other defendants in ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI. In court documents, Musk claims that OpenAI sought to launch a cryptocurrency in 2018, but he declined.
OpenAI representatives have posted years of correspondence with Musk, citing his full knowledge of their struggles to fund massively capital-intensive research.
Elon Musk and OpenAI
In a new court filing, Elon Musk has named several new defendants in his ongoing lawsuit against the popular artificial intelligence company OpenAI. Musk names former OpenAI associates and investors in the amended complaint, including Microsoft. He accuses the company of abandoning its nonprofit focus, which was the main reason behind Musk's initial investment.
Plaintiffs and allegations in Musk's lawsuit. Source: CourtListener
Since dropping its nonprofit status, OpenAI has publicly sought a valuation of $150 billion, which would be a staggering net worth for any company, even one aiming to revolutionize the entire tech industry.
Additionally, according to court documents provided by Musk's legal team, OpenAI first attempted to launch an ICO in 2018:
“In January 2018, just months after their September 2017 ‘enthusiasm,’ Altman proposed a fraudulent ‘ICO,’ or initial coin offering, that would see OpenAI, Inc. sell its own cryptocurrency. Musk also dismissed the idea, saying that ‘it would simply result in a massive loss of credibility for OpenAI and everyone involved in the ICO,’” Musk’s team stated.
In other words, Musk’s lawyers are claiming that OpenAI founder Sam Altman has always prioritized making money over public good. Musk claims he only joined the project to run it as a nonprofit and then left it behind over this philosophical difference. The company has generated massive revenue since going public, receiving $6.6 billion in funding this October.
The company, however, has strongly denied these allegations. This March, it released prior correspondence between Musk and company executives, spanning nearly nine years.
During these talks, OpenAI members emphasized the capital-intensive nature of AI development and claimed that a pivot to profit would be “inevitable.” In other words, Musk has known this for years.
“We are deeply saddened that this happened to someone we greatly admired — someone who inspired us to aim higher, then told us we would fail, start a competitor, and then sued us when we began to make meaningful progress toward OpenAI’s mission without him,” the company’s statement read.
So far, the lawsuit’s prospects for success seem very uncertain. Musk previously dropped the case in July, before reopening it and naming new plaintiffs. The attack may be an attempt to cause headaches for OpenAI, rather than win a major settlement or significantly alter the company’s business trajectory.