Elon Musk is seeking between $79 billion and $134 billion in damages from OpenAl Inc. and Microsoft, alleging the companies defrauded him by abandoning OpenAl's nonprofit mission and generating wrongful gains after partnering with Microsoft.
The demand was laid out in a court filing submitted Friday, after a judge rejected efforts by OpenAI and Microsoft to dismiss the case, clearing the way for a jury trial scheduled for late April in Oakland, California.
Musk's attorney cited financial expert C. Paul Wazzan, arguing Musk is entitled to disgorgement tied to OpenAl's estimated $500 billion valuation after providing roughly $38 million in early funding beginning in 2015. The filing contends the companies' gains stem from commitments made to Musk at OpenAl's founding that were later broken.
Musk left OpenAl's board in 2018, launched his own artificial intelligence company in 2023, and sued OpenAl CEO Sam Altman in 2024 over the company's shift toward for-profit operations. OpenAl and Microsoft deny the allegations.
OpenAl restructured in October, granting Microsoft a 27% stake while maintaining nonprofit control over its for-profit arm. Altman has called Musk's lawsuit a “weaponization of the legal system.” Musk's filing also seeks punitive damages.
