Elon Musk and Sam Altman will face each other in a federal courtroom in Oakland on Monday as jury selection begins in a trial that will test whether OpenAI's transformation from nonprofit research laboratory to one of the world's most valuable technology companies breached its founding commitments.
Musk is seeking up to $150 billion in damages, split between $65.5 billion to $109.4 billion disgorged from OpenAI and $13.3 billion to $25 billion from Microsoft, alongside the removal of Altman and president Greg Brockman from their roles.
Any monetary award would be directed to OpenAI's nonprofit arm rather than to Musk personally.
The case narrowed significantly on Friday when Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted Musk's request to drop his fraud and constructive fraud claims, leaving just two of the original 26 counts for the jury: unjust enrichment and breach of charitable trust.
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 alongside Altman, Brockman and others as a nonprofit artificial intelligence research organisation whose stated mission was to "advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return."
He contributed roughly $38 million before leaving the board in 2018.
His complaint alleges that Altman and others restructured the organisation into for-profit affiliates after soliciting his support, characterising the shift as a betrayal of the nonprofit promise.
OpenAI completed its for-profit conversion in October, and the company is now structured as a nonprofit holding a 26% stake in a commercial arm that houses ChatGPT and its API business.
OpenAI denies all claims and has published internal communications it says show Musk was aware of restructuring plans.
The company has called the lawsuit "a harassment campaign that's driven by ego, jealousy and a desire to slow down a competitor."
The trial arrives at a commercially sensitive moment for both sides.
OpenAI is targeting a potential fourth-quarter IPO that could value it at $1 trillion, and has flagged the litigation as a risk in materials distributed to prospective investors.
Musk, meanwhile, is preparing to take SpaceX public in what is expected to be a record offering; SpaceX acquired his AI company xAI earlier this year in a deal valuing the combined entity at $1.25 trillion.
The witness list underscores the trial's significance: Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella, former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati, co-founder Ilya Sutskever and former board member Shivon Zilis are all named.
Each side has been given approximately 20 hours to present its case, with Microsoft allocated a further five.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers, who presided over the Epic Games v Apple antitrust case, will hear the trial in two phases.
The jury's verdict in the first phase will be advisory rather than binding; the judge will ultimately decide liability.
If OpenAI is found liable, a remedies phase is scheduled to begin on 18 May, where Gonzalez Rogers will rule on damages and any structural relief.
The trial is expected to run through mid-May.
The recap
- OpenAI faces trial over Elon Musk's lawsuit alleging contract breaches
- Musk seeks more than $134 billion and removal of executives
- Jury selection starts Monday in Oakland; trial expected two to three weeks
