A U.S. judge has ruled that Elon Musk's lawsuit accusing OpenAI of abandoning its nonprofit mission will proceed to a jury trial in March. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stated there was "plenty of evidence" to suggest OpenAI's leaders had assured stakeholders its original nonprofit structure would be maintained, and that these disputed facts warrant a trial.
Musk's lawsuit claims he was fraudulently induced to provide significant early funding based on the promise that OpenAI would develop AI for humanity's benefit, not for profit. The suit alleges co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman orchestrated a shift to a for-profit model to enrich themselves, culminating in a multi-billion dollar partnership with Microsoft, which is also a defendant in the case.