OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman will take the witness stand Tuesday and Wednesday in the third-week California trial of 
Elon Musk's lawsuit against the company, the court said. The proceeding, Channel News Asia reported, may determine the future of OpenAI and its leadership at a time when the company has raised hundreds of billions of dollars from large tech investors and is positioning for a potential trillion-dollar IPO.
What is Musk's claim? The lawsuit alleges Altman and the AI startup persuaded Musk to give $38 million to nonprofit OpenAI, only for the organization to abandon its charitable mission and become a for-profit corporation, Channel News Asia reported. Musk has testified that OpenAI was his idea before executives "looted it" and that his funding was "specifically meant to be for a charity." Musk also said he was reassured by Altman early on that OpenAI would remain a nonprofit, even as discussions about a for-profit conversion were under way.
What is OpenAI's defense? The company says Musk knew about the for-profit plan but wanted control, Channel News Asia reported. The faceoff has drawn attention beyond Silicon Valley, with testimony at times turning on the personalities and leadership styles of the two men.
Who else has testified? Former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever told the court Monday he had spent about a year gathering evidence for the board that Altman had displayed a "consistent pattern of lying," Channel News Asia reported. Other witnesses have included President Greg Brockman, former chief technology officer Mira Murati and former board member Shivon Zilis, who is also mother to four of Musk's children. Musk is seeking the removal of Altman and Brockman from their roles.
Figures referenced: Elon Musk. — JudgeMarket.
