On Monday, OpenAI asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings to investigate Elon Musk and his associates, alleging “improper and anti-competitive behavior.”
OpenAI Seeks Regulatory Scrutiny Of Musk
In a letter sent to the attorney generals, OpenAI warned that Musk’s lawsuit—seeking more than $100 billion in damages—could cripple its nonprofit foundation, Reuters reported.
Musk, who co-founded ChatGPT-parent in 2015 and departed in 2018, sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, in 2024.
He claimed that the organization abandoned its original mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity as it transitions toward a for-profit structure.
Musk now leads rival AI firm xAI, which competes directly with OpenAI with a platform Grok.
Claims Of Competitive Motives
OpenAI’s chief strategy officer, Jason Kwon, argued in the letter that Musk’s legal actions may be driven by competitive interests rather than principle.
Musk’s filings suggest that “your offices did not thoroughly investigate OpenAI’s plan,” Kwon wrote, adding that regulators may have “relied on promises about what OpenAI will do in the future.”
OpenAI did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.
Last year, in an August court filing, OpenAI said Musk attempted to bring rival Mark Zuckerberg into a consortium bid for the company, but the Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO ultimately declined to participate.
At the time, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone highlighted a portion of OpenAI’s filing stating that neither Meta nor Zuckerberg signed Musk’s letter of intent.
Meta in 2024 contended that OpenAI should not repurpose assets created under its nonprofit structure for private profit.
Trial Set To Begin In April
A judge in Oakland, California, ruled in January that the case will proceed to a jury trial expected to begin this month.
The development follows OpenAI’s announcement that it closed a $122 billion funding round, lifting its post-money valuation to $852 billion, with backing from investors including Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and SoftBank Group (OTC:SFTBF) (OTC:SFTBY).
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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