According to Greg Brockman (@gdb), recent court documents reveal that during OpenAI’s foundational negotiations, Elon Musk explicitly expressed a desire for OpenAI equity to accumulate $80 billion, signaling a focus on massive financial upside in the AI sector (source: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.433688/gov.uscourts.cand.433688.379.67.pdf). Brockman and Ilya Sutskever, after reflecting on their own motivations, decided they could not grant Musk unilateral control over OpenAI, determining such a move would contradict the company’s mission. This disagreement led Musk to pursue the creation of a for-profit entity, "Open Artificial Intelligence Technologies," highlighting the growing trend of major tech figures seeking both governance control and significant equity in high-growth AI startups. This episode underscores increasing competition for financial and strategic influence in the AI industry, offering lessons for entrepreneurs and investors on governance structures and mission alignment in artificial intelligence business models (source: @gdb on Twitter, courtlistener.com).

According to Sawyer Merritt on Twitter, the ongoing lawsuit between Elon Musk and OpenAI has revealed significant internal communications, particularly a message from OpenAI's President Greg Brockman discussing the ethical concerns of converting OpenAI from a non-profit to a B-Corp without Musk's consent. Brockman explicitly stated that taking such action would be 'morally bankrupt,' highlighting the intense ethical and governance challenges faced by major AI organizations during business model transitions. This evidence underscores the growing complexity of legal and ethical frameworks in AI company structures and may influence future governance and investment strategies in the artificial intelligence industry (source: Sawyer Merritt/Twitter, Jan 16, 2026).