San Francisco, Nov 15 (IANS) – In an escalation of his lawsuit against OpenAI, Elon Musk has amended his complaint to include Microsoft, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and Dee Templeton, a former OpenAI board member and senior Microsoft executive, as defendants. Musk, founder of the AI firm xAI and co-founder of OpenAI, accuses the company of abandoning its non-profit origins in favor of what he calls a profit-driven partnership with Microsoft.
The amended lawsuit, filed in California, argues that OpenAI, initially launched as a charity with Musk’s support, has morphed into a “$157 billion for-profit” aligned with Microsoft’s commercial interests. Musk’s legal team asserts that OpenAI, under CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft’s influence, has transformed into a closed entity focused on market dominance, while actively stifling competition by discouraging investor support for rival AI initiatives, including Musk’s xAI.
The complaint names Shivon Zilis, an executive at Neuralink and former OpenAI board member, as a new plaintiff. The lawsuit claims Zilis, who stepped down from OpenAI’s board in 2023, is an “injured employee” under California law, and that she has witnessed OpenAI's drift from its mission of AI safety and transparency to aggressive commercialization.
Musk’s lawsuit accuses Altman, Brockman, and Microsoft of creating an “opaque web of for-profit OpenAI affiliates” that leveraged OpenAI’s original non-profit status to attract resources and goodwill, ultimately benefiting Microsoft. Musk alleges that OpenAI’s transition was underpinned by Microsoft’s ambition to monopolize the AI market, despite philosophical differences. Musk has previously voiced concerns over the existential risks of AI, which he argues should remain decentralized.
As of yet, Microsoft has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.