We did find a path to advance the mission, with OpenAI now structured⁠ as two main entities: a public benefit corporation (“PBC”) and a controlling non-profit which owns equity in the PBC currently valued at approximately $130 billion.

Elon’s latest variant of this lawsuit is his fourth attempt⁠(opens in a new window) at⁠(opens in a new window) these⁠(opens in a new window) particular⁠(opens in a new window) claims, and part of a broader strategy of harassment⁠ aimed at slowing us down and advantaging his own AI company, xAI. He is now grossly misrepresenting the written record to further his harassment; this post shows just a few examples of the truth that Elon isn’t telling.

In 2017, OpenAI’s founders became concerned that developing artificial general intelligence would require more resources than a nonprofit could raise through charitable donations. Ex. 38. They discussed numerous ideas, including creating a for-profit arm for OpenAI, collaborating with an existing company, or restructuring in some other manner. Ex. 1 (Musk Tr.) at 70:6-72:15, 78:18- 79:14, 95:8-16. Musk insisted that any new entity “support[ ] the nonprofit’s mission” and that OpenAI remain “essentially [a] philanthropic endeavor.”

gdb: over upcoming weeks, how much of your time should we plan for? elon: coming weeks, top priority. gotta figure out how do we transition from non-profit to something which is essentially philanthropic endeavor and is B-corp or C-corp or something. must tell the story and not lose moral high ground. absolutely vital. gdb: yep. elon: need to understand B-corp situation. ilya: i have *some* thoughts. one idea keep non-profit and have C-corp. but i find this approach less appealing because in some sense C-corp not beholden. one formulation: mission is to minimize ex risk by building friendly AGI. could be a way to go. like it more as a new entity beholden to the mission. elon: agree, does sound better. never even heard of a B-corp until sam brought it up. it does sound like right move. would not shut down the non-profit, should still exist in some form. ilya: no opinion, as long as the main entity has something fundamentally philanthropic. elon: any prefs on name? ilya: openai. continuity of the mission. it’s all the same. elon: i agree, think that makes sense. well, i’m pretty excited about doing this with you. ilya: all that’s left is the minor thing of actually doing it. elon: alright cool. i’m gonna figure out the details of the whole B-corp thing tomorrow and get that process under way. and then let’s just stay in frequent touch. make this happen as quickly as possible.