{"id":523636,"date":"2026-01-17T21:22:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T21:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/523636\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T21:22:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T21:22:07","slug":"musk-seeks-up-to-134-billion-from-openai-and-microsoft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/523636\/","title":{"rendered":"Musk seeks up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul data-testid=\"Summary\" class=\"summary-module__summary__QjADA\">\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">OpenAI and Microsoft have challenged Musk&#8217;s damages claims<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">Musk may also seek other penalties<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">Trial is expected to start in April<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Jan 17 (Reuters) &#8211; <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/elon-musk\/\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Elon Musk<\/a> is seeking up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft <a data-testid=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/companies\/MSFT.O\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC link-module__with-icon__qlg76\">(MSFT.O), opens new tab<\/a>, saying he deserves the &#8220;wrongful gains&#8221; that they received from his early support, according to a court filing on Friday.OpenAI gained between $65.5 billion and $109.4 billion from the billionaire entrepreneur&#8217;s contributions when he was co-founding what was then a startup from 2015, while Microsoft gained between $13.3 billion and $25.1 billion, Musk said in the <a data-testid=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/fingfx.thomsonreuters.com\/gfx\/legaldocs\/zgpoyexeopd\/Musk%20v%20Altman%20-%20remedies%20-%2020260116.pdf\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC link-module__with-icon__qlg76\">federal court filing, opens new tab<\/a> ahead of his trial against the two companies.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"promo-box\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf article-body-module__promo-box__hVl8h\"> Sign up  <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/musk-seeks-up-134-billion-openai-microsoft-wrongful-gains-2026-01-17\/undefined?location=article-paragraph&amp;redirectUrl=%2Fbusiness%2Fmusk-seeks-up-134-billion-openai-microsoft-wrongful-gains-2026-01-17%2F\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Without Elon Musk, there&#8217;d be no OpenAI. He provided the bulk of the seed funding, lent his reputation, and taught them all he knows about scaling a business. A pre-eminent expert quantified the value of that,&#8221; Musk&#8217;s lead trial lawyer Steven Molo said in a statement to Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>OpenAI in a statement called it an &#8220;unserious demand&#8221; by Musk and part of what it said was his &#8220;harassment campaign&#8221; against OpenAI.<\/p>\n<p>Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment outside business hours on the amount of compensation Musk is seeking.<\/p>\n<p>MICROSOFT AND OPENAI ALSO FILE SUITSDuring the week, OpenAI <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/litigation\/musk-lawsuit-over-openai-for-profit-conversion-can-head-trial-us-judge-says-2026-01-07\/\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">called the lawsuit<\/a> &#8220;baseless&#8221; and part of a &#8220;harassment&#8221; campaign by Musk. A Microsoft lawyer has said there is no evidence that the company &#8220;aided and abetted&#8221; OpenAI.<\/p>\n<p>The two companies challenged Musk&#8217;s damages claims in a separate filing on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018 and runs xAI with its competitor chatbot Grok, alleges that ChatGPT operator OpenAI violated its founding mission in a high-profile restructuring to a for-profit entity.<\/p>\n<p>A judge in Oakland, California, ruled this month that a jury will hear the trial, expected to start in April.<\/p>\n<p>Musk&#8217;s filing says he contributed about $38 million, 60% of OpenAI&#8217;s early seed funding, helped recruit staff, connect the founders with contacts and lend credibility to the project when it was created.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Just as an early investor in a startup company may realize gains many orders of magnitude greater than the investor&#8217;s initial investment, the wrongful gains that OpenAI and Microsoft have earned &#8211; and which Mr. Musk is now entitled to disgorge \u2013 are much larger than Mr. Musk&#8217;s initial contributions,&#8221; Musk argues.<\/p>\n<p>The filing says Musk&#8217;s contributions to OpenAI and Microsoft were calculated by his expert witness, financial economist C. Paul Wazzan.<\/p>\n<p>Musk may seek punitive damages and other penalties, including a possible injunction, if the jury finds either company liable, the filing says, without specifying what form any injunction might take.<\/p>\n<p>In their own filing, OpenAI and Microsoft asked the judge to limit what Musk&#8217;s expert may present to jurors, arguing his analysis should be excluded as &#8220;made up,&#8221; &#8220;unverifiable&#8221; and &#8220;unprecedented&#8221; and as seeking an &#8220;implausible&#8221; transfer of billions from a nonprofit to a former donor-turned-competitor.<\/p>\n<p>The companies also disputed Musk&#8217;s damages figures more broadly, saying the expert&#8217;s approach is unreliable and could mislead the jury.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"SignOff\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__extra_small__8Buss body-module__full_width__kCIGb body-module__extra_small_body__Bfz20 sign-off-module__text__LQAMP\">Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Mike Scarcella in Washington and Abu Sultan in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard, Kirsten Donovan, Barbara Lewis and Diane Craft<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"Body\" dir=\"ltr\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf article-body-module__element__5eCce article-body-module__trust-badge__5mS3f\">Our Standards: <a data-testid=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thomsonreuters.com\/en\/about-us\/trust-principles.html\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__medium__2Rl30 text-module__small__sph8i link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC link-module__with-icon__qlg76\">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reutersagency.com\/en\/licensereuterscontent\/?utm_medium=rcom-article-media&amp;utm_campaign=rcom-rcp-lead\" target=\"_blank\" dir=\"ltr\" class=\"button-module__link__A3sD0 button-module__secondary__70gBu button-module__round__QDFgq button-module__w_auto__Sem-F\" data-testid=\"LicenceContentButton\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Purchase Licensing Rights<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OpenAI and Microsoft have challenged Musk&#8217;s damages claims Musk may also seek other penalties Trial is expected to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":523637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[6],"tags":[216147,217022,64,217902,216194,216216,216215,216214,165856,217025,224744,4630,217026,165849,216149,216143,216201,217029,216408,224743,216202,218390,218391,217031,242,18705,216158,224742,216157,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-523636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-amers","tag-arti","tag-business","tag-clj","tag-cmpny","tag-destocabsm","tag-destousbsm","tag-destoustcm","tag-gen","tag-itse","tag-judic","tag-legal","tag-mlaisv","tag-mtpix","tag-namer","tag-news1","tag-privt","tag-publ","tag-reuters-legal","tag-rulescompany-openai","tag-sci","tag-sofw","tag-sofw1","tag-swit","tag-tech","tag-tmt","tag-topcmb","tag-topicbusiness-elon-musk","tag-topnws","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115912543219297619","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}