United States of America -OpenAI executives disputed the claims made by Elon Musk in a lawsuit Thursday, saying the Tesla CEO is upset because he is no longer part of the artificial intelligence startup, according to CNBC.
“We believe the allegations in this lawsuit may stem from Musk’s remorse over not being involved in the company’s current success,” OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon wrote in an internal memo on Friday. He added, “It is very disappointing to see Elon take this action.” “The action is against a company he helped found, especially in light of his close collaboration with some of those who are still here working to fulfill the mission.”
Musk one of the founders of OpenAI
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, then resigned from its board in 2018, four years after saying AI “could be more dangerous than nuclear weapons.”
Musk is now suing Microsoft- backed OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, among others, alleging that they have deviated from one of the most important goals of the company's founding charter to develop artificial intelligence "for the broad benefit of humanity."
Since launching its ChatGBT chatbot to the public in late 2022, OpenAI has become one of the world's hottest startups, reportedly worth more than $80 billion.
The company's complex "capable dividend" structure led to Altman's brief dismissal by the board late last year, before an uproar among investors and employees led to his swift reinstatement.
Musk: OpenAI is off target
Musk has long wanted recognition for his central role in creating OpenAI, and spent much of the lawsuit recounting his version of events.
His lawyers said in the lawsuit that Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman approached Musk in 2015 and agreed to form a non-profit laboratory that would develop artificial general intelligence outside of companies.
Musk's lawyers said their client contributed more than $15 million to OpenAI in 2016, "more than any other donor," and helped the startup build a team of "top talent."
The following year, Musk gave OpenAI nearly $20 million, which lawyers asserted was more than other backers. In total, Musk invested more than $44 million in OpenAI from 2016 through September 2020, according to the lawsuit.
In addition, Musk rented OpenAI's initial office space and "paid monthly rental expenses," and was also "present during important periods for the company," the lawsuit said.
Sam Altman: Musk is my hero
OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon didn't dispute the central role Musk played in the early days of OpenAI, but he added a few other details.
For example, Kwon wrote that Musk indicated at one point that he needed “full primary control and majority equity,” and later proposed merging OpenAI with Tesla. He added: "We did not believe that either approach was appropriate for the company."
In the note, Altman described Musk as his hero, and said he misses the old version of co-founder Musk. But he said the company's mission continues. This is the first time that a dispute between the two sides has led to a fiery lawsuit, but they have been at odds for some time.
Before separating from OpenAI, Tesla appointed OpenAI co-founder Annrig Karpathy as senior director of artificial intelligence, and Karpathy returned to OpenAI in 2023.
Musk has been particularly vocal in his opposition to OpenAI and its partnership with Microsoft in recent years, publicly stating in November that OpenAI had deviated from its original mission.
“OpenAI should be renamed Super Closed Source AI to maximize profit... because that is what it is,” Musk said on stage at the Deal Book conference organized by the New York Times.
Regarding OpenAI's transformation from an "open source enterprise" to a multi-billion-dollar profitable company, Musk said: "I don't know, is this legal?"
Kwon insisted Friday that OpenAI is independent and continues to work "to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity."
Good point made.
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