OAKLAND, United States: Satya Nadella is expected to testify in Elon Musk’s high-profile lawsuit against OpenAI, as the courtroom battle over the company’s origins and transformation enters a crucial stage.
The testimony before a federal jury in Oakland, California, will focus on internal Microsoft emails and the company’s role in funding OpenAI’s shift from a nonprofit research organisation into a multi-billion-dollar artificial intelligence company.
OpenAI chief Sam Altman is also expected to testify later this week.
Musk, one of OpenAI’s original co-founders, accuses the company of abandoning its nonprofit mission and misusing his reported $38 million in founding donations to build a business now valued at more than $850 billion.
The Tesla and SpaceX founder wants OpenAI to return to its original nonprofit structure, arguing the company prioritised profits over its original public-interest goals.
Commercial profits
OpenAI rejects the allegations and says Musk voluntarily left the company after failing to gain majority control. The company also argues that Musk is now a direct competitor through his AI startup, xAI.
According to court filings, Musk’s legal team plans to use Microsoft emails from 2018 to argue that the tech giant only invested in OpenAI once commercial profits became possible.
In one email shown during the trial, Nadella wrote: “Overall I can’t tell what research they are doing and how if shared with us it could help us get ahead.”
Microsoft later invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019 and eventually expanded its investment to around $13 billion.
The closely watched trial has exposed tensions among some of Silicon Valley’s most influential technology leaders as competition in the global AI race intensifies.
