Greg Brockman defends $30 billion OpenAI stake: ‘Blood, sweat, and tears’

Two days ago the Musk v. Altman trial began, Elon Musk OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman asked about reaching a settlement. When Brockman suggested both sides drop their claims, Musk responded: “By the end of this week, you and Sam (Altman) will be the most hated men in America. If you insist, so be it.”

message— which OpenAI’s lawyers announced on Sunday, and which Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers later refused to let the jury hear — highlights what may be Musk’s larger goal in this trial. It appears that he is not only trying to win the jury’s favor to remove Brockman and CEO Sam Altman from power, but is also trying to dig up dirt on the two men and Damaging OpenAI’s public image.

When Brockman took the stand on Monday, Musk’s lawyer, Steven Mollo, quickly began questioning him about his compensation at OpenAI. Brockman revealed that his stake in OpenAI stock is currently worth more than $20 billion, and possibly as much as $30 billion. While Brockman initially promised to donate $100,000 to OpenAI when it was under construction, he said he ultimately never committed to doing so.

Brockman has held a number of useful roles at OpenAI since he co-founded the company in 2015. In the startup’s early days, it operated out of his apartment in San Francisco’s Mission District. Today, he is deeply involved in Refocusing OpenAI on a few key productssuch as the Codex Alimentarius. And last year, Brockman did too He gave millions To the super PACs promoting AI and President Trump, and He said previously This increased political spending ties into OpenAI’s founding mission of creating artificial general intelligence that benefits all of humanity.

In court Monday, Molo tried to prove that Brockman and Altman had essentially plundered the original nonprofit OpenAI, which Musk funded and helped create.

In its early days, OpenAI told investors and employees that its nonprofit mission took precedence over making a profit. Brockman testified that his financial interests remain, to this day, second only to OpenAI’s nonprofit mission.

When OpenAI created its for-profit arm in 2019, which received assets from the nonprofit, Brockman testified that he took a significant stake in the new entity. Early in OpenAI’s history, Brockman indicated his desire to become a billionaire, ThHe wrote in his personal diary: “What will get me to a billion dollars financially?”

On Monday, Molo pressed Brockman for several minutes about the massive fortune he had accumulated after his initial goal.

“Why wouldn’t you donate $29 billion to the non-profit OpenAI? Why wouldn’t you?” Molo asked. Brockman responded that he and others put “blood, sweat and tears” into building OpenAI in the years after Musk left the company.

The OpenAI Foundation has a stake of more than $150 billion in the company, making it one of the richest nonprofits in history, Brockman said. That’s roughly five times Brockman’s ownership stake. In total, OpenAI employees own about 25 percent of the shares. The foundation has 27 percent. Brockman testified that the OpenAI nonprofit received less than $150 million from donors, meaning Musk was incidental to the company’s success and that the real motivations were those who stayed behind in building OpenAI.

Of course, Brockman’s stake in OpenAI could be worth more than $30 billion if the company goes public in the next two years. When asked if OpenAI was exploring a potential IPO, Brockman said he thought so.