OpenAI co-founder discloses $38 billion stake, financial ties to Altman

OAKLAND, California – OpenAI’s co-founder and president Greg Brockman on May 4 disclosed deeper financial ties to chief executive Sam Altman than previously known as well as a stake in the ChatGPT maker worth almost US$30 billion (S$38.3 billion).

The details were shared in court during questioning by a lawyer for Mr Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI and is now suing the company on grounds that it improperly became a for-profit company, abandoned charitable goals and should turn back into a non-profit.

Mr Musk’s team said Mr Brockman’s independence was potentially compromised by financial incentives that led him to support Mr Altman, the driver behind OpenAI’s reinvention as a for-profit company.

Mr Brockman also disclosed in court that he holds stakes in two start-ups backed by Mr Altman, as well as a percentage of Mr Altman’s family fund.

The trial, in its second week in a California courtroom, could determine the future of OpenAI, which sparked a widespread craze over generative artificial intelligence after launching its ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022.

Since then, OpenAI has raised well over US$100 billion from investors to hire researchers, buy computing power and expand the company ahead of a potential trillion-dollar listing.

Mr Musk is seeking the ouster of Mr Altman and Mr Brockman from leadership as well as US$150 billion in damages.

Mr Brockman said he did not discuss his compensation directly with Mr Musk. E-mails read out in court showed that Mr Altman mentioned the arrangement during a separate conversation with Mr Jared Birchall, Mr Musk’s head of family office, who relayed the details to Mr Musk.

“One thing worth mentioning now is that he compensated Greg on the side by giving him a percentage ownership of Sam’s personal family office,” Mr Birchall wrote in the e-mail, adding that the deal could mean that “Greg is going to have a greater allegiance to Sam as a result of this arrangement”.

Mr Musk forwarded Mr Birchall’s note to Mr Brockman with two question marks.

When pressed on whether he was loyal to Mr Altman, Mr Brockman said: “I don’t know I would say it quite like that.”

Stakes in Altman-backed start-ups

On May 4, Mr Brockman disclosed that he owned shares of AI chip start-up Cerebras, including during various moments when OpenAI discussed buying the chipmaker. In 2026, OpenAI said it would spend a significant amount of money to buy Cerebras chips.

Mr Brockman also said he has a stake in Helion Energy, a fusion start-up in which Mr Altman has already invested hundreds of millions of dollars. In March, Mr Altman stepped down from Helion’s board because the two companies were looking to work together.

Mr Musk, the world’s richest person, alleges that OpenAI, Mr Altman and Mr Brockman secured his US$38 million in donations and personal help by promising to build a non-profit that would prioritise safe development of AI, before pivoting to create a for-profit entity to enrich themselves.

OpenAI has said Mr Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is driven by a compulsion to control OpenAI and is bitter about the company’s success after he left its board in 2018. It also said Mr Musk did not prioritise safety issues while with the company, and that he is trying to bolster his own AI firm, SpaceX unit xAI, which lags behind OpenAI in user adoption. REUTERS