Musk files lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman

The lawsuit, lodged in San Francisco late Thursday, alleges that Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman initially engaged Musk with the promise of establishing an open-source, non-profit organization. Musk's legal team argues that OpenAI's shift towards profit, supported by Microsoft, violates this agreement, particularly criticizing the secrecy surrounding the development of GPT-4, OpenAI's latest AI model.

OpenAI, Microsoft, and Musk have yet to comment on the lawsuit. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and departed from its board in 2018, is also at the helm of Tesla and SpaceX and acquired Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion. The lawsuit follows a tumultuous period for OpenAI, including the firing and subsequent reappointment of Altman by a reconstituted board, in defense of the company's humanitarian mission.

OpenAI plans to expand its board in March amid the rapid ascent of its ChatGPT chatbot, which has become the fastest-growing software application globally since its November 2022 debut. This innovation has prompted competition from major tech firms and startups alike, leveraging generative AI for various applications and igniting a technology race within the industry.