Overview
- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told a federal jury Monday in Oakland that OpenAI needed a for‑profit arm to pursue its mission, as 2023 planning documents shown in court outlined a hoped‑for $92 billion return on Microsoft’s roughly $13 billion investment.
- Nadella testified that Elon Musk never raised objections to the growing Microsoft‑OpenAI partnership and showed jurors earlier emails in which Musk thanked him for cloud support during OpenAI’s early years.
- Former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever said he spent about a year compiling a 52‑page record alleging Sam Altman had a consistent pattern of lying to leaders and the board, which he said drove the board’s 2023 move to remove Altman.
- Sutskever described the ouster as a ‘Hail Mary’ to protect the company, then backed Altman’s return after Microsoft offered to hire OpenAI’s staff and 95% of employees threatened to quit, and he disclosed his OpenAI stake could be worth about $7 billion.
- With Musk’s side wrapping up, OpenAI began its defense with board chair Bret Taylor praising Altman’s conduct, and Altman is expected to testify next before an advisory jury weighs liability and the judge later considers possible governance or financial remedies.