A group of former OpenAI employees has filed a proposed amicus brief supporting Elon Musk in his ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI. The brief opposes OpenAI’s planned transition from a nonprofit organization to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC).
The filing was submitted by Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard Law professor, on behalf of 12 ex-OpenAI employees:
Steven Adler, Rosemary Campbell, Neil Chowdhury, Jacob Hilton, Daniel Kokotajlo, Gretchen Krueger, Todor Markov, Richard Ngo, Girish Sastry, William Saunders, Carrol Wainwright, and Jeffrey Wu.
Key Points from the Brief:
- The brief claims that transferring control away from the nonprofit would violate OpenAI’s original mission.
- It highlights that OpenAI’s structure — where a nonprofit controls the organization — was key to recruiting employees and building trust with stakeholders.
- The brief references internal meetings and communications in which OpenAI’s leadership emphasized the nonprofit’s role in prioritizing safety and broad societal benefits over profit.
- The document warns that changing this structure could affect how OpenAI handles AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and safety.
Background on the Case:
- OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit.
- In 2019, it restructured into a “capped-profit” model, while retaining nonprofit oversight.
- It is now seeking to restructure as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), similar to other labs like Anthropic and xAI.
Musk’s Lawsuit:
- Elon Musk filed a suit alleging that OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit mission.
- He requested a preliminary injunction to stop the restructuring, which a federal judge denied, but the court allowed the case to proceed to jury trial in Spring 2026.
Additional Developments:
- Labor groups and nonprofit organizations, including the California Teamsters, also petitioned California Attorney General Rob Bonta to prevent OpenAI’s transition to for-profit.
- Another amicus brief was filed in December by Encode, a nonprofit that co-sponsored AI safety legislation (SB 1047).
OpenAI’s Response:
- An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the nonprofit is not being dissolved, and the mission will remain the same.
- OpenAI plans to structure its for-profit arm as a PBC, and the nonprofit will maintain a controlling stake.
- According to the company, this setup will allow the nonprofit to access additional resources to invest in sectors such as education, healthcare, and science.
Timeline:
- OpenAI must complete the transition by late 2025 or early 2026 or risk losing investor funding, according to internal reports.
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