By Mike Scarcella
(Reuters) – OpenAI on Friday asked a federal judge in California to reject a request from billionaire Elon Musk to halt the ChatGPT maker’s conversion to a for-profit company.
OpenAI also published numerous emails and text messages with Musk on its website to claim that he initially supported the profit motive for OpenAI, before leaving the company after failing to acquire a majority stake and full control.
Musk, co-founder of OpenAI, has since launched a rival artificial intelligence company, xAI.
Musk sued OpenAI, its CEO Sam Altman and others in August, alleging they violated contract terms by putting profits ahead of the public interest in the effort to advance AI. In November, he asked U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland for a preliminary injunction blocking OpenAI from transitioning to a for-profit structure.
A lawyer for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
OpenAI’s blog post states that Musk “should compete in the marketplace instead of in the courtroom.”
Musk has since added Microsoft and others as defendants to his lawsuit, claiming OpenAI had plans to sideline rivals and monopolize the generative artificial intelligence market.
OpenAI’s lawsuit denied any conspiracy to restrict competition in the AI market, and said Musk’s request for a preliminary injunction was based on “unsupported allegations.”
OpenAI started as a nonprofit in 2014 and has become the face of generative AI thanks to billions of dollars in funding from Microsoft. In October, it closed a $6.6 billion funding round from investors that could value the company at $157 billion.
Musk’s xAI said earlier this month it had raised about $6 billion in equity financing.
OpenAI is working on a plan to restructure its core business into a for-profit enterprise. The non-profit organization OpenAI is said to own a minority stake in the profitable company.
Rogers will hear arguments on Musk’s ban bid on January 14.
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario, Daniel Wallis and Bill Berkrot)
