OpenAI has responded to Elon Musk's recent lawsuit, stressing that the billionaire has long advocated for the company to transition to a for-profit structure.
Musk, one of OpenAI's co-founders, filed a new lawsuit in August after dropping previous charges, accusing the AI ​​company of abandoning its nonprofit roots.
Early discussions and governance disputes
In a Dec. 13 blog post and court filing, OpenAI emphasized that Musk was involved in shaping its structure from the beginning, and that Musk created the non-profit organization before launching the organization in 2015. He pointed out that he had expressed concerns about operating the company as a
Musk suggested in an email at the time that a “standard C corporation parallel to a nonprofit organization” might be more effective. OpenAI argued that this shows that Musk has supported flexibility in organizational approaches from the beginning.
According to the documents, Musk revisited the issue in 2017 and proposed moving to a for-profit model in the wake of OpenAI's significant technological advances.
In one exchange, co-founder Greg Brockman said that Musk views nonprofits as potentially unsuitable for OpenAI's ambitions, and that Brockman and other leaders agree. He pointed out that he reportedly shares the views of
But tensions arose when Mr. Musk sought control of the proposed commercial entity. OpenAI said Musk directed his finance team to create a public benefit corporation under his leadership, requesting majority ownership, control of the board of directors, and the role of CEO.
These terms were rejected by OpenAI's leadership, including CEO Sam Altman, and led to Musk resigning from the company's board in 2018.
Concerns about for-profit transition and funding
In 2019, OpenAI announced a profit restriction structure managed by the nonprofit sector.
The group said the decision was driven by the need to secure significant funding to compete in a rapidly evolving AI environment. This change was followed by significant investment, including significant support from Microsoft.
OpenAI's legal team also revealed that Musk had been offered shares in a restricted interest entity multiple times, but had declined them. They noted Musk's previous statement in 2019 that he asked OpenAI to clearly confirm that it had no financial interest in commercial ventures.
Musk, who launched xAI in 2023, positions his company as a competitor to OpenAI. xAI has reportedly raised billions of dollars in funding and introduced a new model to compete with OpenAI's generative AI tools like ChatGPT.
Musk's August lawsuit alleges that OpenAI's transition violated its founding principles, but the organization argues that Musk's claims overlook his early role in advocating for structural change. are.
The escalating legal battle reflects a deepening battle over the future of AI development, with OpenAI and xAI vying for dominance in an increasingly competitive field.
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