Author: Brayden Lindrea, CoinTelegraph; Translated by: Bai Shui, Golden Finance
Billionaire Elon Musk has filed another motion to prevent ChatGPT creator company OpenAI from transitioning to a for-profit entity while accusing the company of engaging in anti-competitive behavior.
According to the preliminary injunction motion submitted on November 30, Musk accused OpenAI, its CEO Sam Altman, President Greg Brockman, and shareholder Microsoft of violating Musk's 'terms of foundational contributions to the charity'.
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and was an early board member until leaving the company in 2018.
Subsequently, he launched xAI—the company behind the AI chatbot Grok—claiming that the company is becoming a victim of OpenAI's anti-competitive behavior.
"The path of OpenAI's transformation from a non-profit giant to a for-profit giant is itself filled with anti-competitive behavior, open violations of its charitable mission, and rampant self-dealing," Musk's lawyer wrote.
Excerpt from the motion filed by Elon Musk in the Northern District Court of California. Source: CourtListener
Musk's lawyer stated that through a 'series of exclusive arrangements' with Microsoft, the two companies have engaged in 'predatory practices' allowing them to control nearly 70% of the generative AI market:
"Microsoft and OpenAI now seek to solidify this dominance by cutting off competitors' access to investment capital while continuing to benefit from competitively sensitive information shared over the years since the emergence of generative AI."
They added that allowing this behavior to continue would harm xAI and the public, many of whom are increasingly concerned about 'rushed' and 'unsafe' AI products.
"The changes at OpenAI not only betray Musk but also betray all of us."
California law allows non-profit organizations to convert to 'for-profit corporations', but not limited liability companies.
OpenAI pointed out that its core remains non-profit, but it has established a for-profit subsidiary that can issue stock to raise funds and recruit top talent. However, these tasks will be managed under the guidance of the non-profit organization.
Musk's lawyer stated that maintaining the injunction against OpenAI's remaining non-profit nature is the only 'appropriate remedy'.
"No objective observer can today see OpenAI and say it bears any resemblance to what it promised. Enough is enough."
Source: Elon Musk
OpenAI previously stated in a related document from October that Musk is harassing the company.
"Since founding a competing AI company xAI, Musk has been trying to leverage the judicial system to gain an advantage. This effort should fail; Musk's complaint does not state a claim and should be dismissed," added OpenAI.
In June of this year, when Apple announced it would integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT into iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating systems, Musk threatened to disable Apple devices at his company. Months later, Apple launched Apple Intelligence on October 28.
