Key players: Elon Musk (plaintiff, OpenAI co-founder, xAI CEO); Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO, nonprofit board member); Greg Brockman (OpenAI President); OpenAI (defendant, hybrid nonprofit/for-profit); Microsoft (co-defendant, major investor); regulators including California AG Rob Bonta and Delaware AG Kathy Jennings.[1][2][3][7]
Background and timeline: OpenAI, co-founded in 2015 by Musk, Altman, and others as a nonprofit to counter Google's AI dominance, received Musk's $38M (60% of seed funding); Musk left in 2018 over Tesla conflicts. OpenAI created a for-profit arm in 2019, partnered with Microsoft, faced board drama (Altman briefly fired 2023), and restructured into a public benefit corporation in October 2025 under nonprofit control. Musk sued in 2024 alleging fraud and mission abandonment, seeking $100-135B damages (all pledged to safe AGI charity); partial claims dismissed, full jury trial set for April 27, 2026, in Oakland, CA. OpenAI reversed full for-profit plans in May 2025 after regulator input and advocacy.[1][2][3][4][5]
Newsworthy now: Amendment escalates high-stakes trial just weeks away (April 27), intensifying feud over AI's nonprofit roots amid OpenAI's $300-500B valuation, Musk's xAI rivalry, and regulatory scrutiny—potentially reshaping governance, damages, and AGI ethics.[1][3][5][7]