Musk seeks up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft in 'wrongful gains'

Elon Musk is seeking up to $134 cardinal from OpenAI ⁠and Microsoft, saying helium deserves the "wrongful gains" that they received from his aboriginal support, according to a tribunal filing connected Friday.

OpenAI gained betwixt $65.5 ‍billion and $109.4 cardinal from the billionaire entrepreneur's ‍contributions erstwhile helium was co-founding ‍what was past a startup from 2015, portion Microsoft gained betwixt $13.3 cardinal and $25.1 billion, Musk said successful the national tribunal filing up of his proceedings against the 2 companies.

"Without Elon Musk, there'd beryllium nary OpenAI. He provided the bulk of ‌the ‌seed funding, lent his reputation, and taught them each helium knows ​about scaling a business. A pre-eminent adept quantified the worth of that," Musk's pb proceedings lawyer Steven Molo said successful a connection to Reuters.

OpenAI, successful a statement, called it an "unserious demand" by Musk and said it was portion of his "harassment campaign" against OpenAI.

Microsoft ⁠did not respond to a petition for remark extracurricular concern hours connected the magnitude of compensation Musk is seeking.

During the week, OpenAI called the suit "baseless" and portion of a "harassment" run by Musk. A Microsoft lawyer has said determination is nary grounds that the institution "aided and abetted" OpenAI.

The 2 companies challenged Musk's damages claims successful a abstracted filing connected Friday.

Musk, who near OpenAI successful 2018 and runs xAI, a rival to ChatGPT, alleges that ChatGPT relation OpenAI violated its founding ngo done a high-profile restructuring into a for-profit entity.

A justice successful Oakland, California, ruled this period that a assemblage volition perceive the trial, expected to commencement successful April.

Musk's filing says helium contributed astir $38 million, 60% of OpenAI's aboriginal effect funding, helped enlistee staff, link the founders with contacts and lend credibility to the task erstwhile it was created.

"Just arsenic an aboriginal capitalist successful a startup institution whitethorn recognize gains galore ‍orders of magnitude greater than the investor's archetypal investment, the wrongful gains that OpenAI and Microsoft person earned - ‌and which Mr. Musk is present entitled to disgorge – are overmuch larger than Mr. ⁠Musk's archetypal contributions," Musk argues.

The filing says Musk's contributions to OpenAI and Microsoft were calculated by his adept witness, fiscal economist C. Paul Wazzan.

Musk whitethorn question punitive damages and different ‍penalties, including a imaginable injunction, if the assemblage finds either institution liable, the filing says, without specifying what signifier immoderate injunction mightiness take.

In their ain filing, OpenAI and Microsoft asked the justice to bounds what Musk's adept whitethorn contiguous to jurors, arguing his investigation should beryllium excluded arsenic "made up," "unverifiable" and "unprecedented" and arsenic seeking an "implausible" transportation of billions from a nonprofit to a erstwhile donor-turned-competitor.

The companies besides disputed Musk's damages figures ⁠more broadly, saying the expert's attack is unreliable and ‌could mislead the jury.