Despite being the former co-founder of OpenAI, it is no secret that Elon Musk is not a fan of the company. Nor that of its current CEO, Sam Altman. So much so that in the latest filing, Elon Musk is seeking a payout from OpenAI worth $79 billion to $134 billion over alleged “wrongful gains.”
Elon Musk seeks payout from OpenAI
Elon Musk is accusing the AI company of having abandoned its non-profit status. It is also why he believes he is owed billions in damages and is looking for a payout from OpenAI.
To provide a bit of backstory, Musk co-founded OpenAI back in 2015. Using his wealth, he contributed $38 million in seed funding during OpenAI’s early years. Musk also used his connections to introduce business contacts, provided startup advice, and helped with the recruiting of key employees.
So, how does Musk’s $38 million investment balloon to $134 billion? This is according to estimates from C. Paul Wazzan, a financial economist who also serves as Musk’s expert. Based on Wazzan’s calculations, OpenAI earned between $65.5 billion and $109.43 billion in so-called “wrongful gains,” while its partner, Microsoft , earned $13.3 billion and $25.06 billion.
Not their first fight
While both Musk and Altman were allies at the start, their relationship grew antagonistic over the years. Musk had initially co-founded OpenAI with the intention of it being a non-profit open research lab that would benefit humanity. However, ever since OpenAI’s partnership with Microsoft, he feels that the company has become a “closed‑source de facto subsidiary of Microsoft.”
Musk also argues that his initial funding and support were given on the understanding that OpenAI would remain non-profit. However, he points at OpenAI’s for-profit arm and licensing deals with Microsoft as a violation of those commitments. At one point, Musk made a very public bid of $100 billion to buy OpenAI . Unsurprisingly, OpenAI turned him down .
It’s hard to say if Musk’s lawsuit will be successful, but he’s not stopping there. He also named OpenAI in another lawsuit. This time, he is accusing OpenAI and Apple of monopolistic practices, which prevent his xAI app from getting a fair ranking on the App Store.
