The file
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company

OpenAI

AI company behind ChatGPT, founded as a nonprofit in 2015 and now OpenAI Group PBC, controlled by the OpenAI Foundation

Entries
49
On the record
24
Stories
3
Latest entry
Sep 2, 2026

The record

Compiled by the MrScandal desk from the documents below ยท Desk editor Laima ฤ’rkลกฤทe-Kreicberga ยท Nov 12, 2026

OpenAI's largest lawsuit was brought by a co-founder. Elon Musk sued in California state court on February 29, 2024, withdrew that case on June 11, and refiled in federal court in Oakland on August 5, 2024, later adding xAI as a plaintiff and Microsoft as a defendant. He alleged that OpenAI and its leaders broke promises to keep it a nonprofit. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied an injunction in March 2025, faced an OpenAI countersuit over what it called a sham 97.375 billion dollar bid, and denied OpenAI summary judgment in January 2026. The trial began in late April 2026. On May 18 an advisory jury found Musk had sued too late, and the judge adopted the verdict. Musk said he would appeal. The remaining claims, including xAI's antitrust counts, were briefed through late October 2026.

The copyright cases are still open. The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in December 2023, seeking billions of dollars in damages for the use of its articles to train the models behind ChatGPT. The Authors Guild and 17 authors had filed a class action in September 2023. A preservation order in the Times case required OpenAI to keep ChatGPT output data until September 26, 2025. Separately, OpenAI's board removed Sam Altman as chief executive on November 17, 2023, saying he had not been consistently candid with it. He returned on November 29, and a WilmerHale review summarised in March 2024 found that his conduct did not mandate removal.

OpenAI began in December 2015 as a nonprofit and added a capped-profit company in 2019, when Microsoft invested $1 billion. After reviews by the Delaware and California attorneys general, it recapitalized on October 28, 2025. The nonprofit, now the OpenAI Foundation, controls OpenAI Group PBC and holds equity valued at about $130 billion, while Microsoft holds about 27 percent. Regulators have acted in other areas too. Italy's privacy authority restricted ChatGPT in March 2023 and fined OpenAI 15 million euros in December 2024, but a Rome court upheld OpenAI's challenge in March 2026. The FTC has sent OpenAI two sets of 6(b) study orders. In May 2024 it paused its Sky voice out of respect for Scarlett Johansson, while saying the voice was not hers.

Questions people ask

Who won the Elon Musk v. OpenAI lawsuit?

OpenAI, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and Microsoft won the first phase. On May 18, 2026 an advisory jury in Oakland unanimously found that Musk's claims were barred by the statutes of limitations, and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers immediately accepted the verdict. The jury did not decide whether OpenAI had broken its promises to him. Musk said on X that he would appeal and called it a calendar technicality. source

What did Elon Musk sue OpenAI for?

His federal complaint of August 5, 2024 accused Altman, Brockman and OpenAI entities of promissory fraud, constructive fraud, racketeering and breach of contract, alleging they had abandoned a founding promise to run OpenAI as an open nonprofit. An amended complaint in November 2024 added xAI and Shivon Zilis as plaintiffs, Microsoft, Reid Hoffman and Deannah Templeton as defendants, and federal and California antitrust counts. source

Is the Musk v. OpenAI case over?

Not fully. The May 2026 jury trial covered the first phase of the case. On June 10, 2026 Judge Gonzalez Rogers noted that Musk had chosen not to amend the remaining causes of action, said she had concerns about their viability given the fierce competition in the AI field, called the briefing on them inadequate, and ordered the parties to agree a new briefing schedule. Those claims include xAI's antitrust counts. source

What did OpenAI say in its countersuit against Musk?

OpenAI's counterclaims of April 9, 2025 say Musk tried to harm the company through attacks on the social media platform he controls, a pretextual demand for corporate records, harassing legal claims and a sham bid. The bid was a February 10, 2025 letter offering 97.375 billion dollars for OpenAI's assets, which the board unanimously rejected. source

What is the New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI about?

The Times sued Microsoft and eight OpenAI companies in the Southern District of New York on December 27, 2023. It alleges that the models behind ChatGPT and Microsoft's Copilot were built by copying millions of its copyrighted articles without permission, and it seeks billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages. No court has ruled on liability. source

Why did OpenAI's board fire Sam Altman?

On November 17, 2023 the board said a deliberative review had concluded that Altman was not consistently candid in his communications with it, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. Chief technology officer Mira Murati became interim chief executive. Altman returned on November 29, 2023 with a new initial board. source

Is OpenAI still a nonprofit?

The nonprofit still controls the company. On October 28, 2025 Delaware's attorney general issued a Statement of No Objection to the recapitalization after a review begun on October 9, 2024. The conditions are that the nonprofit keeps the sole power to appoint and remove the board of the new public benefit corporation, and that the corporation's mission stays identical to the nonprofit's. The business itself now runs as OpenAI Group PBC. source

Was OpenAI fined in Italy, and does the fine stand?

The Italian data protection authority announced on December 20, 2024 a 15 million euro fine and a six-month public information campaign. It found OpenAI had trained ChatGPT on personal data without a proper legal basis, had not been transparent with users, and had not reported a March 2023 data breach. The authority has since removed the decision from its website after a Rome court ruling published on March 18, 2026 upheld OpenAI's challenge. source

Roles and honours on the record

  • 2015 Founded as a non-profit artificial intelligence research company source
  • 2019 OpenAI LP created as a capped-profit company controlled by OpenAI Nonprofit source
  • 2023-present Defendant with Microsoft, The New York Times Co. v. Microsoft Corp. et al., S.D.N.Y. source
  • 2024-present Defendant and counterclaimant, Musk v. Altman, N.D. Cal. No. 4:24-cv-04722-YGR source
  • as of 2025 OpenAI Group PBC, a public benefit corporation controlled by the OpenAI Foundation, which appoints its board source

Every entry, newest first

Last entry Sep 2, 2026
  1. Filed

    Justice Department filing backed OpenAI's fair-use defense in the consolidated cases, per The Intercept. New York Times v OpenAI: 'billions' sought, fair use claimed

  2. Filed

    Publishers of nearly 400 newspapers sued OpenAI and Microsoft, S.D.N.Y. No. 1:26-cv-05320, Bloomberg Law reported. Judge OKs Anthropic's $1.5B authors' deal; OpenAI case waits

  3. Ruled

    OpenAI completed its restructuring into OpenAI Group PBC on Oct. 28, 2025, after talks with California and Delaware attorneys general. Musk's OpenAI suit dismissed: the jury faulted his timing

  4. Ruled

    Court let The Intercept's DMCA claim against OpenAI proceed, The Intercept reported. Judge OKs Anthropic's $1.5B authors' deal; OpenAI case waits

  5. Reported

    Unsealed Authors Guild filings say OpenAI deleted 'books1' and 'books2' in mid-2022, per Business Insider. New York Times v OpenAI: 'billions' sought, fair use claimed

  6. Filed

    New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in Manhattan federal court, No. 23-11195, Reuters reported. Judge OKs Anthropic's $1.5B authors' deal; OpenAI case waits

  7. Reported

    OpenAI's founding blog post named Musk, Altman and nine others as founders of the nonprofit, per OpenAI's own account. Musk's OpenAI suit dismissed: the jury faulted his timing

Stories in this file

Sam Altman: FILEDBusiness ยท 6d ago

โš–๏ธ New York Times v OpenAI: 'billions' sought, fair use claimed

The Times seeks 'billions of dollars'; OpenAI and Microsoft say training is fair use. No merits ruling appears in the record read. โณ

Marble columns and steps of the US Supreme Court under a blue sky (stock photo)RANKEDPhoto: Mark Stebnicki ยท Pexels License
Business ยท 7d ago

๐Ÿค– Judge OKs Anthropic's $1.5B authors' deal; OpenAI case waits

One court-approved payout for pirated books, one fair-use ruling on training, no merits ruling yet in the Times suit. OpenAI says its use is fair. โณ

Elon Musk: TOO LATEBusiness ยท 7d ago

โฐ Musk's OpenAI suit dismissed: the jury faulted his timing

The jury never ruled on whether going for-profit broke OpenAI's founding charter - only on how long Musk waited to challenge it. โณ

The record, entry by entry

Musk v. OpenAI

  1. 2024-02-29 Filed Musk sued Altman, Brockman and OpenAI entities in California Superior Court, claiming a founding agreement required OpenAI to open-source its technology and not license it to Microsoft, according to OpenAI's later court filing. OpenAI counterclaims, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  2. 2024-03-05 Official OpenAI responded publicly, saying it would move to dismiss all of Musk's claims, that Musk had wanted it to merge with Tesla or to have full control, and that the nonprofit had raised less than $45 million from him. OpenAI, "OpenAI and Elon Musk"
  3. 2024-06-11 Filed Musk withdrew the state-court suit the day before a hearing on the defendants' demurrer, according to OpenAI's counterclaims. OpenAI counterclaims, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  4. 2024-08-05 Filed Musk sued again in federal court in Northern California, alleging promissory fraud, constructive fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, racketeering and breach of contract against Altman, Brockman and OpenAI entities. Complaint, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  5. 2024-11-14 Filed Musk's first amended complaint added xAI and former OpenAI director Shivon Zilis as plaintiffs, Microsoft, Reid Hoffman and Deannah Templeton as defendants, and antitrust claims under the Sherman Act and California law. First amended complaint, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  6. 2024-11-29 Filed Musk, Zilis and xAI moved for a preliminary injunction barring OpenAI and the other defendants from business activities that they claimed broke federal antitrust and state law. Motion for preliminary injunction, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  7. 2024-12-13 Official OpenAI published a timeline and documents saying that Musk had agreed in 2017 that a for-profit was the next step and had demanded majority equity, absolute control and the CEO role. OpenAI, "Elon Musk wanted an OpenAI for-profit"
  8. 2025-03-04 Ruled Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied the preliminary injunction, saying it sought the ultimate relief of the case on a cursory record. She offered to expedite a trial on the conversion claim. Order denying preliminary injunction, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  9. 2025-04-09 Filed OpenAI filed counterclaims accusing Musk of harassment through social media attacks, a pretextual records demand, legal claims and a sham bid. They describe a February 10, 2025 letter of intent offering 97.375 billion dollars for OpenAI's assets, which the board unanimously rejected. OpenAI counterclaims, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  10. 2025-05-01 Ruled The court granted in part and denied in part the motions to dismiss the amended complaint, letting some claims proceed, dismissing others and allowing amendment of three. Order on motions to dismiss, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  11. 2026-01-15 Ruled The court denied OpenAI's motion for summary judgment on Musk's claims of breach of charitable trust, fraud, constructive fraud and unjust enrichment, sending them to trial. It also listed OpenAI's counterclaims and xAI's antitrust claims as part of a second phase. Order on summary judgment, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  12. 2026-01-16 Official OpenAI published its own notes of a September 2017 call and other records, saying Musk was misrepresenting the written record in his court filing. OpenAI, "The truth Elon left out"
  13. 2026-03-16 Ruled After a pretrial conference on March 13, the court confirmed jury selection for April 27, 2026, with evidence to begin no earlier than April 28. Pretrial order, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  14. 2026-05-18 Ruled After a three-week trial, an advisory jury found that Musk's charitable trust and unjust enrichment claims against OpenAI, Altman and Brockman, and his aiding-and-abetting claim against Microsoft, were filed outside the limitations period. Judge Gonzalez Rogers adopted the verdict. Musk had sought up to $180 billion for the OpenAI nonprofit and the removal of Altman and Brockman, and his lawyers said they would appeal. CNBC report
  15. 2026-06-10 Ruled The judge noted that Musk had chosen not to amend the remaining causes of action, said she had concerns about their viability given the fierce competition in AI, and ordered a briefing schedule. Order re remaining claims, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  16. 2026-06-24 Filed Musk, xAI, OpenAI and Microsoft agreed a schedule for the remaining claims: opening briefs by August 10, opposition by September 24 and replies by October 26, 2026. Joint stipulation, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  17. 2026-07-01 Ruled The court appointed R. David Proctor as mediator and, if mediation fails, as a limited-purpose special master. Order appointing mediator, Musk v. Altman (N.D. Cal.)
  1. 2023-09-20 Filed The Authors Guild and 17 authors filed a class action against OpenAI in the Southern District of New York, alleging copyright infringement of their works. An amended complaint filed on December 4, 2023 added Microsoft as a defendant. Authors Guild press release
  2. 2023-12-27 Filed The New York Times sued Microsoft and eight OpenAI entities for copyright infringement in the Southern District of New York, alleging that GPT models were built by copying millions of its articles and seeking billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages. Complaint, The New York Times Co. v. Microsoft Corp. (S.D.N.Y.)
  3. 2025-06-05 Official OpenAI said a magistrate judge's preservation order in the New York Times case required it to retain consumer ChatGPT and API output data, and that it had asked the judge to reconsider and appealed to the district judge. OpenAI, response to the Times' data demands
  4. 2025-10-22 Official OpenAI said its obligations under the preservation order had ended on September 26, 2025, but that it was still holding limited April to September 2025 user data the Times had asked it to keep. OpenAI, response to the Times' data demands

Board crisis, November 2023

  1. 2023-11-17 Official The board of OpenAI, Inc. announced Sam Altman's departure as CEO and from the board after concluding he was not consistently candid in his communications with it. Chief technology officer Mira Murati became interim CEO and Greg Brockman stepped down as chairman. OpenAI, board announcement
  2. 2023-11-29 Official OpenAI announced Altman's return as CEO, Murati's return to her role as CTO, and a new initial board of Bret Taylor as chair, Larry Summers and Adam D'Angelo. OpenAI announcement
  3. 2024-03-08 Official A board special committee released a summary of WilmerHale's review, which covered more than 30,000 documents and found the prior board acted within its broad discretion in firing Altman but that his conduct did not mandate removal, and that the decision did not arise from product safety or security concerns. Altman rejoined the board. OpenAI, special committee announcement

Restructuring and the attorneys general

  1. 2024-10-09 Official Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings began reviewing OpenAI's plan to convert the nonprofit into a for-profit public benefit corporation. Delaware Attorney General release
  2. 2025-05-05 Official OpenAI's board said the nonprofit would keep control and the for-profit LLC would become a public benefit corporation. OpenAI, "Evolving OpenAI's structure"
  3. 2025-10-28 Official Delaware's attorney general issued a Statement of No Objection to the recapitalization. The conditions were that the nonprofit keeps the sole power to appoint and remove the public benefit corporation's directors and that the corporation's mission stays identical to the nonprofit's. Delaware Attorney General release
  4. 2025-10-28 Official California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office had secured concessions on charitable assets, safety and keeping OpenAI in California, and would not go to court to oppose the recapitalization. California Attorney General press release
  5. 2025-10-28 Official OpenAI completed the recapitalization. The nonprofit, renamed the OpenAI Foundation, keeps control of the for-profit and holds equity valued at about $130 billion. OpenAI, "Built to benefit everyone"

Regulators

  1. 2023-03-31 Official Italy's data protection authority imposed an immediate temporary limitation on OpenAI's processing of Italian users' data and opened an inquiry, citing no legal basis for mass data collection to train ChatGPT and no age verification. It gave OpenAI 20 days to respond, on pain of a fine of up to โ‚ฌ20 million or 4% of global turnover. Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, press release
  2. 2024-01-25 Official The FTC issued 6(b) orders to OpenAI, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Anthropic requiring information on generative AI investments and partnerships. FTC press release
  3. 2024-12-20 Ruled Italy's data protection authority closed its ChatGPT inquiry with a 15 million euro fine and an order to run a six-month information campaign, finding that OpenAI had trained ChatGPT without an adequate legal basis, breached transparency duties and not notified the March 2023 data breach. It sent continuing matters to Ireland's regulator. Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, press release
  4. 2025-01-17 Official FTC staff released the 6(b) report on AI partnerships, including Microsoft's with OpenAI, flagging possible effects on access to computing power and talent, switching costs and access to sensitive information. FTC press release
  5. 2025-03-05 Ruled Britain's Competition and Markets Authority decided that Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI did not qualify for investigation under UK merger law. Competition and Markets Authority case page
  6. 2025-09-11 Official The FTC sent 6(b) orders to seven companies offering consumer AI chatbots, including OpenAI OpCo, asking how they measure, test and monitor possible negative effects of chatbots that act as companions. FTC press release
  7. 2026-03-18 Ruled A Rome court ruling, No. 4153/2026, upheld OpenAI's challenge to the Italian privacy authority's December 2024 decision, and the authority removed the decision from its website. Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, note on the decision

Product disputes

  1. 2024-05-19 Official OpenAI paused the Sky voice in ChatGPT. In a statement dated May 20, Altman said Sky was not Scarlett Johansson's voice and was never meant to resemble hers, that the voice actor was cast before any outreach to her, and that OpenAI was sorry it had not communicated better. OpenAI, "How the voices for ChatGPT were chosen"
  2. 2025-11-25 Official OpenAI set out how it would handle mental-health-related lawsuits, including a suit brought by a family after a death, saying it had filed the full chat transcripts with the court under seal. It added that it was reviewing new filings. OpenAI, "Our approach to mental health-related litigation"

Founding and Microsoft

  1. 2015-12-11 Official OpenAI announced itself as a non-profit artificial intelligence research company and said its funders had committed $1 billion, while expecting to spend only a fraction of it in the next few years. OpenAI, "Introducing OpenAI"
  2. 2019-03-11 Official OpenAI created OpenAI LP as a hybrid it called a capped-profit company. Returns for investors and employees were capped, with excess returns going to OpenAI Nonprofit, which retained control. OpenAI, "OpenAI LP"
  3. 2019-07-22 Official OpenAI announced that Microsoft was investing $1 billion and would become its exclusive cloud provider, with the two jointly developing Azure AI supercomputing technologies. OpenAI, Microsoft investment announcement
  4. 2025-10-28 Official Microsoft said it held about 27 percent of OpenAI Group PBC, valued at about $135 billion, under a new agreement that keeps Azure API exclusivity until AGI and requires an expert panel to verify any AGI declaration. Microsoft official blog

Documents

Sources behind this file

  1. CNBC report on the jury verdict in Musk v. OpenAI ยท Report, May 18, 2026
  2. New York Times report on OpenAI's conversion to a public benefit corporation ยท Report, Oct 28, 2025
  3. CNBC report on copyright testing and OpenAI's U.K. filing ยท Report, Mar 6, 2024
  4. Associated Press report on OpenAI's response to Musk's suit ยท Report, Mar 6, 2024
  5. The Intercept v. OpenAI complaint ยท Court filing, Feb 28, 2024
  6. TechCrunch analysis of OpenAI tax filings and Musk's contributions ยท Report, May 17, 2023
  7. The Verge report on Musk leaving OpenAI's board ยท Report, Feb 21, 2018
  8. OpenAI launch announcement, "Introducing OpenAI" ยท Statement, Dec 12, 2015

Connected files

  • Sam Altman ยท American entrepreneur and investor (born 1985) ยท 3 shared stories
  • Microsoft ยท Tech giant known for Windows, Office software, Azure cloud computing, Xbox, and major AI investments. ยท 2 shared stories
  • Anthropic ยท An AI safety and research company known for building Claude and pioneering Constitutional AI. ยท 1 shared story
  • Elon Musk ยท American businessman (born 1971) ยท 1 shared story
  • The New York Times Company ยท Publisher of The New York Times ยท 1 shared story
  • Scarlett Johansson ยท American actress (born 1984) ยท named in the record
  • Federal Trade Commission ยท U.S. agency that protects consumers and promotes competition ยท named in the record
  • Amazon ยท Online retailer behind the Prime subscription service ยท named in the record
  • Tesla ยท Publicly traded electric carmaker run by Elon Musk ยท named in the record