Satya Nadella is expected to testify Monday in the high-profile lawsuit filed by Elon Musk against OpenAI, as the legal battle over the company’s transformation into a major for-profit AI business continues in federal court in Oakland, California.
Nadella’s testimony is expected to focus on internal Microsoft emails discussing the company’s early investment in OpenAI and its transition away from its original nonprofit structure. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is also expected to testify later in the week.
Musk argues that OpenAI abandoned the nonprofit mission it was originally founded on and used his reported $38 million in contributions to help build a company now valued at more than $850 billion. He wants the court to force OpenAI to return to nonprofit status, a move that could seriously affect the company’s future growth and possible IPO plans.
OpenAI strongly rejects the claims, saying Musk left the organization voluntarily after failing to gain control of the company. The company also argues that Musk now directly competes with OpenAI through his own artificial intelligence company, xAI.
According to court documents, Musk’s legal team plans to use Microsoft emails from 2018 to argue that Microsoft only became interested in OpenAI once it saw potential for major profits from artificial intelligence. In one email, Nadella reportedly questioned how OpenAI’s research could help Microsoft gain an advantage in AI development.
At the time, some Microsoft executives were reportedly uncertain about the partnership and worried OpenAI could eventually move its business elsewhere. However, after OpenAI created a for-profit subsidiary to attract outside funding, Microsoft invested $1 billion in 2019. That investment later grew to around $13 billion in total.
The trial has already featured dramatic testimony from OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, who faced questions about old diary entries discussing making money from OpenAI. Brockman also claimed Musk threatened him in 2017 after being denied full control of the company.
An advisory jury is expected to deliver its opinion by the week of May 18, but the final decision will be made by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. If the court eventually rules in Musk’s favor, OpenAI’s future structure and planned public offering could face major uncertainty.
