Displayed in a mobile phone screen, the ‘OpenAI’ logo is seen in front of Elon Musk and Sam Altman in Ankara, Turkiye on March 14, 2024.
Muhammed Selim Korkutata | Anadolu | Getty Images
Elon Musk has chosen to withdraw the lawsuit he brought against OpenAI and its co-founders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, in a California state court. Musk’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit came shortly after he publicly criticized OpenAI and its recent collaboration with Apple.
The case was dismissed without prejudice, as per a court filing obtained by good.
Initially, Musk had filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman, and Brockman in February, alleging breach of contract and fiduciary duty.
A hearing had been set for Wednesday in San Francisco to determine whether the case would be dismissed as per the defendants’ request.
Legal experts informed good back in March that the lawsuit was on shaky ground since the core of the issue stemmed from a non-formal written agreement that was not signed by all parties involved.
Musk’s claims centered around the allegation that the original purpose of the early OpenAI team to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of humanity had evolved into a profit-driven enterprise largely controlled by major shareholder Microsoft.
Using a significant portion of the 35-page complaint and attached exhibits from March, Musk sought to highlight his pivotal role in founding a company that has risen to prominence, with OpenAI topping good’s Disruptor 50 list in 2023, largely due to the success of ChatGPT.
Kevin O’Brien, partner at Ford O’Brien Landy LLP and former assistant U.S. attorney, remarked, “It’s certainly a good advertisement for the benefit of Elon Musk,” in reference to the legal maneuver. However, he expressed doubts about its legal foundation.
Notably, Musk ventured into AI entrepreneurship with his own startup, xAI, last year, positioning it as a direct competitor to OpenAI. xAI recently announced a $6 billion Series B funding round, attracting investments from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Fidelity Management & Research Company.
X.AI’s mission, as described on its website, is to “comprehend the true essence of the cosmos.” The startup unveiled a chatbot named Grok inspired by “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” boasting real-time internet knowledge after two months of training, as per the company’s claims.
Neither Musk’s nor Altman’s representatives responded immediately to requests for comments.
Contributions to this report were made by Lora Kolodny from good.
Correction: The lawsuit was filed in February. An earlier version of this story misstated the month.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/11/elon-musk-drops-suit-against-openai-and-sam-altman.html