According to OpenAI, Musk has only contributed $45 million and reportedly expressed interest in merging with Tesla or gaining control

OpenAI, the prominent AI startup, announced on Wednesday its decision to refute all allegations put forth by Elon Musk in a recent lawsuit. The company implied that Musk, despite being a co-founder, had minimal influence on its growth and achievements.

The entire OpenAI team, including Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, John Schulman, Sam Altman, and Wojciech Zaremba, shared in a blog post that the Microsoft-backed startup had received under $45 million in funding from Musk since its establishment in 2015, despite his initial pledge of up to $1 billion. The startup announced it has received over $90 million from additional contributors to aid its research endeavors.

OpenAI’s recent action comes after Musk filed a lawsuit against Altman, Brockman, OpenAI, and other related parties, claiming that the creators of ChatGPT had violated their initial contracts by prioritizing financial gains over the organization’s original goal of creating AI for the betterment of society. OpenAI was established to create a balance against Google, according to him.

According to Musk, OpenAI’s original commitment to making its technology freely available to the public has shifted towards prioritizing profits for Microsoft.

This intense legal dispute between Musk and OpenAI may have significant consequences for the AI landscape. Being hailed as the top AI startup, valued at over $80 billion, OpenAI’s triumph with ChatGPT has sparked a fierce AI competition following its launch in late 2022. This lawsuit’s result could have a major influence on the trajectory of AI development and the competitive landscape within the industry.

OpenAI stated in a recent blog post that they acknowledged the significant computational resources required to create artificial general intelligence (AGI), a system with intelligence equal to or surpassing humans, leading to estimated annual costs in the billions of dollars. Realizing the importance of transitioning to a for-profit structure was crucial to securing the necessary funding and resources.

Disagreements arose between Musk and other co-founders of OpenAI, as detailed in a blog post that includes five email exchanges between Musk and OpenAI executives.

Elon proposed merging with Tesla or gaining full control to advance the mission through a for-profit structure. Elon Musk departed from OpenAI, emphasizing the importance of having a strong competitor to Google/DeepMind and expressing his intention to take on the challenge himself. OpenAI reported that he expressed his support for us to discover our own path.

Back in early February 2018, Elon Musk received an email proposing that OpenAI should be linked to Tesla for financial support. Musk agreed, stating it was a perfect idea. Tesla is considered a strong competitor to Google, according to OpenAI.

OpenAI emphasized on Wednesday its commitment to ensuring that AGI benefits all of humanity by developing safe and beneficial AGI and promoting widespread access to its tools. OpenAI’s technology is being utilized in various locations, such as Kenya and India, to empower individuals and enhance their everyday experiences, according to the startup.

“We regret the current situation with someone we once greatly respected—an individual who motivated us to strive for excellence, only to later doubt our abilities, establish a rival organization, and subsequently take legal action when we began advancing towards OpenAI’s goals independently,” stated OpenAI in the blog post.

Regarding Musk’s accusation of OpenAI abandoning its open-source principles, the Microsoft-backed startup responded by highlighting that Musk had knowledge of and consented to the transition away from full transparency as the organization advanced in its AGI development.

Elon Musk grasped that the mission did not involve making AGI open-source. When Ilya spoke to Elon, he mentioned that as we approach the development of AI, it may be wise to become more guarded. OpenAI emphasizes the importance of ensuring that the benefits of AI are accessible to all once it is developed, even if the scientific knowledge is not shared. Elon Musk agreed with this sentiment.