"The federal jury found Altman, OpenAI and its president, Greg Brockman, not liable for Elon Musk's claims that they unjustly enriched themselves and broke a founding contract made with Musk when founding the startup. The unanimous verdict, delivered after less than two hours of deliberation, is a stark rebuke of Musk and his lawyer's claims that Altman stole a charity through his leadership of OpenAI. The jury's decision, affirmed immediately by the judge's dismissal of all charges, provides the AI firm with a stamp of approval for its for-profit plans, already in motion, and a clear path ahead to go public later this year at around a $1tn valuation."
"Musk's demands that Altman be removed as CEO and that the for-profit arm of the company transfer some $150bn to the non-profit arm would have jeopardized the blockbuster initial public offering. A delay to OpenAI's financial bonanza may have been one of Musk's goals. SpaceX the centibillionaire's mega-business that combines a titular rocket launching business, the satellite internet service Starlink and OpenAI competitor xAI is reportedly planning to go public in June. OpenAI's plans now seem all but guaranteed, given that the world's richest man couldn't put a stop to them."
"Wall Street, ever wary of upheaval and uncertainty, is likely breathing a sigh of relief, said professor Sarah Kreps, director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University. She called the ruling a reflection of the tough reality that developing frontier AI is expensive and that maintaining non-profit status is not viable in the face of fierce, capital-intensive competition. The decision is likely to reassure investors and the broader AI sector because it avoids a potentially chaotic outcome that could have challenged OpenAI's commercial structure, Microsoft partnership, and future fundr"
A federal jury in Oakland found Sam Altman, OpenAI, and Greg Brockman not liable for claims that they unjustly enriched themselves and breached a founding contract with Elon Musk. The unanimous verdict came after less than two hours of deliberation and led the judge to dismiss all charges immediately. The ruling rebuked Musk’s allegations that Altman stole a charity through leadership of OpenAI. The decision supports OpenAI’s ongoing for-profit plans and reduces risk to a planned IPO later this year at roughly a $1 trillion valuation. Musk’s requested removal of Altman and transfer of about $150 billion from the for-profit arm to the nonprofit arm would have threatened the IPO. The outcome is expected to reassure investors and stabilize expectations for OpenAI’s commercial structure and partnerships.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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