Musk, Altman head to trial in battle over OpenAI

by · UPI

April 27 (UPI) -- The trial in Elon Musk's lawsuit challenging OpenAI's for-profit status is set to begin Monday in California.

The case pits two of the biggest artificial juggernauts -- Musk, owner of xAI, and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI -- against each other. The outcome of the trial could have a large impact on OpenAI, which, as the creator of ChatGPT, is one of the world's most influential AI companies, NPR reported.

Musk and Altman together created OpenAI with others in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab with the goal of benefiting humanity without being beholden to shareholders.

Musk left the company in 2018 and now accuses it of betraying its initial nonprofit status, The New York Times reported.

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OpenAI said its founders determined it would need to attract investors if the company wanted be able to afford the computing power and other resources to be a world-class leader in AI. Lawyers for OpenAI say Musk, himself, wanted to commercialize the company and control it, but lost out to Altman.

OpenAI has a $730 billion valuation, while Musk's xAI lab, which was bought by his company SpaceX, has a $250 billion valuation.

Musk is seeking $150 billion in damages, accusing Altman of duping him. He's also requesting the removal of Altman and fellow co-founder Greg Brockman from their roles and a return to OpenAI's nonprofit status.

Tech journalist Casey Newton told NPR the trial will be "a clash of two enormous personalities."

"And I think what is at stake is potentially the future of OpenAI and the future development of AI."

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