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Under oath on May 5, 2026, Greg Brockman repeatedly told the court both that he…
Brief
Greg Brockman testified at trial that he both understands the claims against him in detail and, when pressed on cross-examination, twice said he 'never really been certain what I'm being sued for,' even as Musk's lawyer framed the lawsuit as alleging breach of OpenAI's charitable mission to develop safe, open-source AI for humanity and prohibit individual profit. Under oath Brockman admitted holding $30 billion of OpenAI equity with no invested capital, receiving a secret $10 million payment from Sam Altman in 2017, and writing diary entries describing plans to 'get out of Elon' and convert the nonprofit to a b-corp. He also disclosed four undisclosed financial ties (Cerebras, Stripe, CoreWeave, Helion), said the OpenAI Foundation had zero full-time employees until this lawsuit, never fulfilled a $100,000 pledge, and drafted a December 2023 charter removing a primary duty to humanity—facts the author argues amount to unjust enrichment and breach of fiduciary duty while Brockman 'played dumb' about the suit's basis.
Why it matters
Under oath on May 5, 2026, Greg Brockman repeatedly told the court both that he 'never really been certain what I'm being sued for' and that he 'stands by' that testimony after cross-examination by Musk's lawyer, who stated the suit alleges breach of OpenAI's charitable mission (develop safe open-source AI for humanity and prevent individual profit).
Key details
- Brockman testified he holds $30 billion in personal OpenAI equity obtained with $0 invested, and admitted a secret $10 million side-payment from Sam Altman in 2017; his 2017 diary entries quoted in court include 'This is the only chance we have to get out of Elon... take me to $1 billion' and plans to 'steal the nonprofit' and convert it to a b-corp.
- He disclosed four previously undisclosed financial conflicts with counterparties (Cerebras, Stripe, CoreWeave, Helion), testified the OpenAI Foundation had zero full-time employees until this lawsuit was filed, and admitted he never delivered a publicly pledged $100,000 donation from eight years ago.
- Brockman testified he drafted a new charter in December 2023 removing 'Our primary duty is to humanity' and adding 'capitalism as a positive force,' acknowledged he owed fiduciary duties to OpenAI as a 501(c)(3) and to humanity, but said he wasn't sure any conversation explaining those duties ever occurred during his nine years as a charity fiduciary.