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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified in Oakland on Monday, expressing pride in his company’s early investment in OpenAI during the ongoing legal battle with Elon Musk.
While Musk alleges that Microsoft and OpenAI leaders conspired to abandon the firm’s philanthropic roots for profit, Nadella argued that the financial success has actually bolstered the nonprofit’s mission.
He noted that Microsoft’s risk-taking helped build one of the world’s most well-funded charitable entities, despite his company’s initial $13 billion stake ballooning to an estimated $135 billion.
The trial has illuminated the intense internal friction among Silicon Valley’s elite before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT.
Musk, who contributed $38 million to the original nonprofit, is pushing for OpenAI to revert to its non-commercial status—a move that could jeopardise its $850 billion valuation and its standing against rivals like Google and Anthropic.
OpenAI’s legal team countered that Musk’s motives are driven by “petty revenge” after he failed to gain control of the company years ago.
Nadella also addressed the 2023 crisis involving the temporary ousting of Sam Altman, admitting he took swift action to prevent Altman from forming a competing company.
Microsoft had even prepared a $25 billion subsidiary to absorb OpenAI’s talent before Altman was eventually reinstated.
With Sam Altman expected to testify later this week, the jury’s verdict on potential wrongdoing is anticipated by mid-May, a decision that could ultimately decide the future of OpenAI’s corporate structure and planned IPO.
