New Delhi

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk filed a motion to dismiss his lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday, which had accused them of forsaking the startup's initial objective of building artificial intelligence for the sake of humanity rather than profit.

Advertisment

Musk withdraws legal action without prejudice

According to a petition in the San Francisco Superior Court, Musk's attorneys requested that the California state court dismiss the action, which was filed in February, without citing a justification for the decision. On Wednesday, a Superior Court judge was slated to consider OpenAI's motion to dismiss the complaint.

Musk's complaint was rejected without prejudice, which means he can file it again later.

Advertisment

Long-standing dispute over OpenAI’s mission

The lawsuit was the climax of Musk's long-standing resistance to OpenAI, a business he co-founded that has become a pioneer in generative AI thanks to significant funding from Microsoft. Musk, who started his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, in July, raised $6 billion in Series B fundraising in May, giving the company a post-money worth of $24 billion.

Musk's lawsuit claimed that Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman first approached him about starting an open-source, non-profit corporation. The startup, founded in 2015, is currently focusing on profitable ventures.

Advertisment

Allegations of breaching founding principles

Musk alleged in the lawsuit that OpenAI "set the founding agreement aflame" when it released its most powerful language model, GPT-4, last year. He requested a judicial order requiring OpenAI to make its research and technology publicly available, as well as prohibiting the business from exploiting its assets, including GPT-4, for the financial benefit of Microsoft and other partners.

OpenAI responded in a court filing that Musk's action was based on illogical assertions and was a ruse to pursue his own AI goals. "Seeing the remarkable technological advances OpenAI has achieved, Musk now wants that success for himself," OpenAI's attorneys stated. Musk reacted in an April filing, claiming that OpenAI was attempting to "advance arguments that are based on disputed facts" beyond the scope of the complaint.

Future implications for AI development

The rejection of the claim without prejudice opens the door to future legal action, highlighting continued concerns in the fast-growing field of artificial intelligence. As Musk continues to develop his own AI enterprises, the industry will be watching to see how these disagreements and cooperation affect the future of AI innovation.

(With inputs from Agencies)