OpenAI jury begins deliberations

Elon Musk’s case against OpenAI moved into jury deliberations after lawyers finished closing arguments on May 14 in federal court in Oakland, California. The suit targets OpenAI, Chief Executive Sam Altman, President Greg Brockman and Microsoft over OpenAI’s shift away from its original nonprofit structure. A nine-person jury is now weighing the evidence, but its verdict will be advisory rather than binding. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will make the final decision on liability, and a second phase on remedies is scheduled to begin Monday. ### Why is a jury involved if the judge will make the final call? CNBC reported that the nine jurors — six women and three men — were instructed to begin deliberating after Gonzalez Rogers read formal instructions in court on Thursday. She told jurors they must decide the case solely on the evidence before them. CNBC said the verdict will be advisory, meaning Gonzalez Rogers will ultimately determine liability herself. (cnbc.com) Local News Matters reported that the jury has been asked to resolve threshold questions tied to the surviving claims, including the applicable statute of limitations. According to that report, Gonzalez Rogers instructed jurors to apply a three-year limitations period to the charitable-trust claim and a two-year period to the unjust-enrichment claim. (cnbc.com) ### What, exactly, is Musk accusing Altman and Brockman of doing? Musk sued in 2024, alleging that OpenAI’s leaders abandoned commitments to keep the artificial intelligence company aligned with its nonprofit mission and used his contributions for unauthorized commercial purposes, CNBC reported. The surviving claims include breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment. CNBC said Musk contends roughly $38 million he donated was diverted into a structure that benefited insiders and investors. (localnewsmatters.org) The plaintiffs’ theory, as described in recent coverage, is that Altman and Brockman attached a for-profit business to the original nonprofit and later accepted tens of billions of dollars from Microsoft and other investors. Reuters, via syndicated coverage, said Musk’s lawyers argued OpenAI’s leadership transformed the organization into a vehicle to enrich themselves. (cnbc.com) ### How did OpenAI and Microsoft answer those claims? OpenAI’s lawyers told jurors that Altman and Brockman never promised Musk that OpenAI would remain in a particular corporate form, CNBC reported. Sarah Eddy, one of the company’s attorneys, argued that Musk’s donations were spent properly and that his lawsuit came only after he launched competing startup xAI. “He never cared about the nonprofit structure,” Eddy told the jury, according to CNBC. “What he cared about was winning.” (msn.com) Microsoft, which is also a defendant, argued that it had no knowledge of any alleged breach and therefore could not have aided and abetted it, CNBC reported. Attorney Russell Cohen presented Microsoft’s closing argument separately from OpenAI’s defense. ### What penalties are in play if Musk wins? The remedies phase begins Monday, CNBC reported, signaling that the court is already set to hear argument on what relief could follow if liability is found. (cnbc.com) Coverage from The Next Web and TechTimes said the possible outcomes under discussion include unwinding parts of OpenAI’s restructuring, removing Altman and Brockman from leadership roles and ordering large financial disgorgement. Those outlets described figures reaching as high as $134 billion, though Reuters-style primary reporting available in search results did not independently confirm that number. The same reporting said the case centers on OpenAI’s conversion from a nonprofit lab into a company backed by major outside capital. Any final remedy, however, would still be decided by Gonzalez Rogers rather than the jury. ### What happens next in court? Monday is the next concrete date in the case. CNBC reported that jury deliberations are set to begin then, and that the remedies phase is also scheduled to open the same day in Oakland federal court. (cnbc.com) Gonzalez Rogers, not the jury, will issue the final ruling on liability after considering the advisory verdict and the legal questions presented in the second phase.