The attempt by ChatGPT creator OpenAI to transition into a for-profit enterprise was rejected by a U.S. court on Tuesday, denying billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk the preliminary injunction he had sought.
The Oakland, California U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Musk has failed to meet the high standard necessary to get a preliminary injunction to prevent OpenAI from becoming a for-profit entity.
On the other hand, Rogers was quoted as saying that she is willing to move a trial over the matter to a later date in this year.
According to Musk’s attorney Marc Toberoff, the company is happy that the judge has agreed to a speedy trial on the central claims in the lawsuit because they raise “urgent” public interest concerns.
According to a statement released by Toberoff, “We look forward to a jury confirming that (OpenAI CEO Sam) Altman accepted Musk’s charitable contributions knowing full well they had to be used for the public’s benefit rather than his own enrichment.”
OpenAI has been attempting to change its legal status from nonprofit to for-profit. The company claims it needs to do this in order to raise the necessary funds to create top-tier AI models. The chatbot developer expressed its satisfaction with the ruling in a statement.
Requests for comment from Reuters were not met with a response from OpenAI’s patron, Microsoft.
Last year, Musk sued OpenAI and Altman, claiming that the founders had asked him to fund a nonprofit whose mission was to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity but that OpenAI is now only interested in making money.
He later requested the judge overseeing the case to halt OpenAI’s for-profit transition in December and added federal antitrust and other claims to the complaint later on.
In 2015, Musk and Altman laid the groundwork for OpenAI, but Musk left the firm before it could get off the ground. In 2023, Musk went on to establish xAI, a competitor artificial intelligence startup.
Luis Gochoco is a seasoned managing editor and writer with over a decade of experience covering politics, technology, gaming, and entertainment news. With a keen eye for breaking stories and in-depth analysis, he has established himself as a trusted voice in digital journalism. Luis is one of the key forces behind the success of GameNGuide, contributing to 12 million views through engaging and high-traffic content. He also played a pivotal role in generating 8 million views on International Business Times, shaping the platform’s technology and gaming coverage.
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