Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI has been decided in favour of the latter after the world’s richest person accused the artificial intelligence company of abandoning its original mission to benefit humanity.
A federal jury in Oakland, California, found OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, and president Greg Brockman, not liable for Musk’s claims that they broke a contract made with him and unjustly enriched themselves.
In an unanimous verdict on Monday, the nine-person jury stated that Musk brought his case too late. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers aligned with the decision.
“I think there’s a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury’s finding, which is why I was prepared to dismiss on the spot,” Rogers told Musk’s legal team.
Speaking after the verdict, Musk’s lawyer Marc Toberoff said the tussle “is not over,” adding that the tech billionaire would have a strong basis for an appeal.
Toberoff told reporters that the ruling, based on the statute of limitations, ”has factual components but it has major legal components as well.”
Musk, Altman, Brockman, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella all gave testimony in the case in the three-week trial that featured several prominent Silicon Valley executives.
The outcome of the case eases the path for OpenAI to proceed with a planned initial public offering that could value the business at $1 trillion.