OpenAI's Sam Altman takes the stand to fend off Elon Musk's accusations he 'stole a charity'

"Altman pushed back against the notion that Musk actually cares about OpenAI. “Mr. Musk did try to kill it,” he said, adding that Musk launched a competitor called xAI, tried to poach its talent, and alleged that he engaged in “business interference.” The dispute goes back nearly a decade to when the founders of OpenAI including Musk decided they needed to create a for-profit entity in order to attract top talent and raise big money to develop competitive AI technology."

"Musk's lawyers made the case that OpenAI, Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman, with the help of investments from Microsoft, jettisoned OpenAI's founding mission of being a non-profit focused on creating advanced AI for the benefit of humanity. Instead, the Musk team argues that they enriched themselves by creating a for-profit subsidiary that now effectively controls the nonprofit. OpenAI's legal team has argued that Musk is motivated by sour grapes and is out to damage a competitor."

"On the stand, Altman testified that the co-founders felt no single person should control AGI, or artificial general intelligence, and that Musk was not a good fit for the company. Musk left the board in 2018, and Altman called that a morale boost for employees who did not like his “hardcore” approach. The trial, now in its third week, pits two of the tech world's biggest personalities against one another in a high-stakes clash that could usher in major changes for one of the world's leading artificial intelligence companies."

Altman testified in a trial over accusations that OpenAI abandoned its founding nonprofit mission by converting ChatGPT’s maker into a for-profit entity. Musk’s lawyers argued that OpenAI’s leadership, aided by Microsoft investment, enriched themselves by creating a for-profit subsidiary that effectively controls the nonprofit. OpenAI’s legal team argued Musk is acting out of resentment and aims to damage a competitor. Altman said Musk tried to kill OpenAI, launched xAI, attempted to poach talent, and alleged business interference. The dispute traces back nearly a decade to founders creating a for-profit structure to attract talent and raise capital. Altman testified that founders opposed any single person controlling AGI and that Musk was not a fit, noting Musk left the board in 2018.

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