Khaberni - Billionaire Elon Musk has demanded the company «OpenAI» and their main partner «Microsoft» to pay compensations ranging between $79 billion and $134 billion, claiming that the company deceived him by abandoning its original non-profit nature and moving towards a profit-oriented model, with an exclusive partnership with «Microsoft», in a dramatic escalation of the ongoing legal dispute between them.
According to recently submitted court documents, Musk alleges that these compensations represent «unlawful profits» that both companies gained from his initial investments and support for the project, as Musk's lawyers estimate these profits to be between $65.5 billion and $109.43 billion for «OpenAI», and between $13.3 billion and $25.06 billion for «Microsoft».
The story began in 2015 when Musk co-founded «OpenAI» as a non-profit organization aimed to «promote artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity» until he left the company in 2018, and then launched his own company «xAI» in 2023.
Musk claims he contributed $38 million in founding «OpenAI» in 2015, under the promise that it would remain a non-profit organization dedicated to developing AI in a safe and open-source manner.
After leaving the board in 2018, «OpenAI» started cooperating with «Microsoft», which invested billions of dollars (approximately $14 billion to date) in exchange for exclusive commercial rights, leading to the company's shift towards a profit-oriented model.
Musk describes this shift as «fraud», as he believed his contributions were for charitable purposes, not for the enrichment of profit-oriented companies.
In a recent decision by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers at the Oakland Federal Court, demands by «OpenAI» and «Microsoft» to dismiss the lawsuit were rejected, indicating that Musk has a legal basis to claim enforcement of the original charitable terms, even though the contributions were made through an intermediary.
According to American reports, if Musk succeeds in the lawsuit, this could lead to radical changes in the structure of «OpenAI», including reconsidering its partnership with «Microsoft», which Musk describes as «monopoly».
For its part, «OpenAI» has denied the accusations, considering that Musk is trying to hinder its progress after previous failed negotiations to merge with «Tesla».
