ALBAWABA - Elon Musk has taken his legal conflict with OpenAI to the next step by requesting a court injunction to prevent the nonprofit from transitioning into a for-profit corporation, Bloomberg reports.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI as an independent nonprofit in 2015, argues that the change goes against the company's initial mission of utilizing artificial intelligence to advance humanity.
Originally established in 2015 as a nonprofit, OpenAI switched to a capped-profit business model in 2019 to draw in large investments, as reported by CNBC. In an attempt to improve its ability for raising funds while maintaining a mission-driven structure, the company is now changing its structure to become a public benefit organization.
Musk’s legal team argue that OpenAI has violated antitrust laws with its reorganization and agreements that force investors to refrain from sponsoring other competing AI companies like Musk's startup xAI.
The motion draws emphasis to what Musk's legal team claims are “group boycotts” and “wrongful use of competitively sensitive information” that resulted from OpenAI's tight relationship with Microsoft, which has invested approximately $14 billion in the company so far and named co-defendant in the case.
According to Bloomberg, Musk’s lawyers accused OpenAI of putting financial gain ahead of its philanthropic goals, saying “It cannot lumber about the marketplace as a Frankenstein, stitched together from whichever corporate forms serve the pecuniary interests of Microsoft and Altman at any given moment.”
Musk’s claims were dismissed by an OpenAI representative, CNBC reports, as "baseless complaints” and “without merit.” Saying that OpenAI’s partnerships, particularly with Microsoft, encourage innovation rather than impede competition, and its structural adjustments are in line with its objective to responsibly develop AI.
