By Our Reporter
Background: Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit for safe AGI benefiting humanity (not profit). He donated ~$38M & contributed early tech/ideas before leaving in 2018.
Musk claims: They defrauded him by converting to for-profit (capped then full), partnering with Microsoft, abandoning the founding mission.
OpenAI counters: Musk knew/agreed to for-profit plans by 2017; talks broke over control (he wanted it); he quit & urged them to raise billions independently.
He’s seeking $79-134B in “wrongful gains” (recently questioned by judge as speculative). Proceeds to charity if won.
Jury trial starts April 28, 2026 in CA federal court (fraud/breach claims). Separate xAI trade secrets suit vs. OpenAI was dismissed Feb 2026.
