Elon Musk has taken steps to dismiss his lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, citing a departure from the startup’s original mission. As reported by Reuters, Musk’s attorneys filed a motion in the California state court on Tuesday, seeking the dismissal without providing specific reasons. The lawsuit, initially filed in February, alleged that OpenAI had strayed from its intended purpose of developing artificial intelligence (AI) for the betterment of humanity rather than for profit. A hearing for OpenAI’s request to dismiss the lawsuit was set to take place on Wednesday in the San Francisco Superior Court.
Both OpenAI and Musk’s representatives refrained from immediate comments regarding the recent development. Musk opted to dismiss the case without prejudice, indicating the possibility of refiling it in the future.
Notably, Musk launched his own AI startup, xAI, in July of the previous year. xAI recently secured $6 billion in series B funding, propelling its post-money valuation to $24 billion.
Why Did Musk Sue OpenAI?
This legal action marks the culmination of Musk’s longstanding discontent with OpenAI, a startup he co-founded. OpenAI, which has garnered substantial funding from Microsoft, has emerged as a prominent figure in generative AI.
Musk’s lawsuit asserted that OpenAI, originally conceived as an open-source, non-profit venture in 2015, had shifted its focus towards profit-making endeavours. The release of GPT-4, OpenAI’s powerful language model, was cited in the lawsuit as evidence of deviating from the founding principles.
In his legal action, Musk sought to compel OpenAI to make its research and technology accessible to the public, while also seeking to prevent the startup from leveraging its assets, including GPT-4, for financial gains, particularly for Microsoft.
How Did OpenAI Respond?
In response, OpenAI contended that Musk’s claims lacked coherence and were merely a strategic move to promote his own AI ventures. OpenAI’s legal representatives argued that Musk’s motivations stemmed from a desire to replicate the success achieved by the startup.
Musk countered these arguments in an April filing, accusing OpenAI of attempting to introduce disputed facts beyond the scope of the lawsuit.
