Elon Musk’s amended lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman has unveiled fascinating details about the company’s founding through a series of emails exchanged between the two billionaires in 2015. The lawsuit, which now includes Microsoft as a defendant, accuses the tech giant and OpenAI of forming a “de facto merger” and engaging in anticompetitive practices in the rapidly evolving AI sector.
The newly revealed correspondence shows Sam Altman’s initial outreach to Musk in March 2015, following a joint open letter to the US government about AI regulation. Altman’s pivotal email questioned whether it was possible to stop humanity from developing AI, concluding it was “almost definitely not.” He proposed that “if it’s going to happen anyway, it seems like it would be good for someone other than Google to do it first,” suggesting Y Combinator start a “Manhattan Project for AI.”
Musk’s initial response was lukewarm — simply “Probably worth a conversation.” However, a month later, Altman presented a detailed proposal that would shape OpenAI’s foundation. The plan included:
- A mission to create the first general AI for “individual empowerment” with safety as a “first-class requirement”
- A founding team of 7-10 researchers based in Mountain View
- A governance structure of five people: Musk, Bill Gates, Pierre Omidyar, Dustin Moskovitz, and Altman
- Technology owned by a foundation and used “for the good of the world”
- Competitive salaries for researchers with YC equity for upside, uncorrelated to what they built
Musk’s response was succinct: “Agree on all.” And with that, OpenAI was born as a nonprofit AI research organization.
The relationship soured when Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018. According to Semafor, Musk wanted to run the company independently to compete with Google, but when his request was rejected, he withdrew his funding and departed. The $157 billion company has since transformed dramatically, partnering with Microsoft, which has invested over $13 billion in the startup.
Musk’s legal actions began in March 2024, alleging OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission. Though he initially dropped that lawsuit, he filed a new complaint in August, claiming executives “deceived” him by exploiting his concerns about AI’s existential risks. OpenAI previously dismissed Musk’s claims as “incoherent” and “contradictory.”
Key Quotes
Been thinking a lot about whether it’s possible to stop humanity from developing AI. I think the answer is almost definitely not. If it’s going to happen anyway, it seems like it would be good for someone other than Google to do it first.
Sam Altman wrote this in his initial email to Elon Musk in March 2015, proposing what would become OpenAI. This quote reveals Altman’s foundational philosophy that AI development was inevitable and that creating an alternative to Google’s AI dominance was crucial.
The mission would be to create the first general AI and use it for individual empowerment—ie, the distributed version of the future that seems the safest. More generally, safety should be a first-class requirement.
This was the first point in Altman’s detailed proposal to Musk a month later, outlining OpenAI’s original mission. The emphasis on safety and individual empowerment contrasts sharply with current criticisms that OpenAI has become too commercially focused.
The technology would be owned by the foundation and used ‘for the good of the world’, and in cases where it’s not obvious how that should be applied the 5 of us would decide.
Altman’s governance proposal to Musk outlined how OpenAI’s technology would be controlled and deployed. This statement is particularly significant given Musk’s current allegations that OpenAI has abandoned its nonprofit mission through its Microsoft partnership.
Agree on all
Elon Musk’s brief response to Altman’s detailed proposal effectively greenlit the creation of OpenAI. This two-word reply set in motion the founding of what would become one of the world’s most valuable and controversial AI companies.
Our Take
The revelation of these founding emails is remarkable for what they expose about the gap between OpenAI’s original vision and its current reality. Altman’s 2015 proposal emphasized nonprofit governance, safety-first development, and technology for “the good of the world”—principles that seem increasingly at odds with OpenAI’s transformation into a capped-profit entity with deep Microsoft ties. What’s particularly striking is how prescient yet naive the original vision appears: the founders recognized AI’s transformative potential and safety risks but may have underestimated the commercial pressures that would reshape their mission. Musk’s lawsuit, while potentially self-serving given his competing AI venture xAI, raises legitimate questions about accountability in AI development. The case could establish important precedents about whether AI companies can fundamentally alter their missions and governance structures, especially when those changes affect technology with such profound societal implications. This legal battle may ultimately define the boundaries of acceptable corporate evolution in the AI era.
Why This Matters
This lawsuit and the revealed correspondence provide unprecedented insight into the founding of one of the world’s most influential AI companies at a critical juncture for the industry. The emails demonstrate how quickly OpenAI evolved from Altman’s vision of a safety-focused nonprofit into a commercial powerhouse valued at $157 billion, raising fundamental questions about AI governance and corporate structure.
The legal battle highlights growing tensions around AI development and control, particularly as companies race to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI). Musk’s allegations of anticompetitive practices between OpenAI and Microsoft could have significant regulatory implications for the AI industry, potentially influencing how AI companies structure partnerships and maintain their stated missions.
For the broader tech ecosystem, this case underscores the challenges of balancing commercial interests with safety concerns in AI development. The transformation from Altman’s original proposal—emphasizing technology “owned by the foundation” for “the good of the world”—to OpenAI’s current Microsoft-backed commercial model represents a pivotal shift that may define how future AI companies operate and are regulated.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/emails-between-sam-altman-elon-musk-kicked-off-openai-2024-11