Elon Musk is seeking up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing that the companies profited unfairly from his early support of the artificial intelligence firm, according to a court filing made public on Friday.
In the filing submitted to a federal court ahead of a trial expected to begin in April, Musk said OpenAI gained between $65.5 billion and $109.4 billion from his contributions when he co-founded the organisation in 2015, while Microsoft gained between $13.3 billion and $25.1 billion.
Musk’s lawyer, Steven Molo, said the entrepreneur provided most of OpenAI’s seed funding, lent his reputation to the project and helped the company scale. Musk says he contributed around $38 million, representing roughly 60% of OpenAI’s early funding, and helped recruit staff and connect the founders with key contacts.
OpenAI rejected the claim, calling it an “unserious demand” and part of what it described as a harassment campaign by Musk. Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment on the compensation being sought.
Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018 and now runs rival AI company xAI, alleges that OpenAI violated its founding mission by restructuring into a for-profit entity. OpenAI has described the lawsuit as baseless, while a Microsoft lawyer has said there is no evidence the company aided or abetted any wrongdoing.
A judge in Oakland, California, ruled earlier this month that the case will be heard by a jury. Musk’s filing argues that the “wrongful gains” earned by OpenAI and Microsoft far exceed his original investment and that he is entitled to recover them. The damages calculations were prepared by Musk’s expert witness, financial economist C. Paul Wazzan.
Musk is also seeking possible punitive damages and other remedies, including an injunction, though the filing does not specify what form such an order would take.
In a separate filing, OpenAI and Microsoft asked the court to limit what Musk’s expert can present to jurors, arguing that the analysis is unreliable, unverifiable and could mislead the jury. The companies said the damages claims amount to an implausible attempt to transfer billions of dollars from a nonprofit organisation to a former donor who is now a competitor.
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Iran has rejected claims it has been weakened, vowing instead “more crushing” attacks against the United States and Israel. President Masoud Pezeshkian also warned that Israel is fabricating threats about Iran, as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed affecting the global energy market.
The 4-person crew in the Orion capsule on NASA's Artemis II space shuttle carried out a key thruster firing on Thursday, sending the ship past the main orbit of the Earth towards the moon, in the hope of beating Apollo 13's distance in 1970, as they took pictures using phones and cameras.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz by telephone with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday, the Russian foreign ministry said. A statement on the ministry website said the call had taken place at the initiative of Iran.
The United Nations Security Council is to vote on a Bahraini resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, diplomats said on Friday, but veto-wielding China made clear its opposition to authorising any use of force.
Fears of wider escalation grow despite President Donald Trump saying U.S. strikes on Iran could end within weeks. Meanwhile missile attacks, tanker incidents and rising casualties across Israel, Lebanon and the Gulf heighten risks to regional stability and energy routes.
There are fears of an oil spill after a drone strike hit a Kuwaiti oil tanker near Dubai on Tuesday, while U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran reportedly killed at least two people. A loud explosion was heard in Beirut in southern Lebanon early Wednesday, as oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel.
Russian-flagged tanker carrying approximately 700,000 barrels of crude oil docked at Cuba's Matanzas oil terminal on Tuesday, shipping data confirmed, marking a vital and controversial delivery to an island paralysed by severe energy shortages and a suffocating U.S. blockade.
Four astronauts blasted off from Florida on Wednesday on NASA's Artemis II mission, a high-stakes voyage around the moon that marks the United States' boldest step yet toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade in a race with China.
Explosions were heard in the Syrian capital Damascus as Israeli air defences intercepted Iranian missiles, Syrian state television reported on Tuesday.
The U.S. national average retail price of petrol rose above $4 a gallon for the first time in over three years on Monday (30 March), according to GasBuddy data, as the U.S.–Israeli war with Iran continued to roil global energy markets.
Japan and Indonesia will deepen coordination on energy security, Tokyo said, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran disrupts vital oil and gas flows to Asia.
China's three largest state-owned airlines have issued warnings regarding their financial outlook for the current year, acknowledging that the eruption of war involving Iran has driven jet fuel prices to unsustainable highs.
Stock markets across Asia fell on Monday as escalating conflict involving Iran drove oil prices sharply higher, fuelling fears of inflation and a potential global recession, with investors reacting to disruption risks in the Strait of Hormuz and prolonged hostilities.
World Trade Organization (WTO) talks broke up with no agreement on Monday on a plan for reform or even on extending a moratorium on e-commerce, piling more pressure on the trade body that finds itself increasingly sidelined by economic nationalism.
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