OpenAI co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever told a California court on May 11 that his stake in OpenAI is now valued at nearly $7 billion, up from around $5 billion in November 2025. His testimony came during the ongoing legal battle between OpenAI and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk over the company’s transition from a nonprofit research organisation into a major commercial AI business.

The case focuses on whether OpenAI moved away from its original mission while aggressively pursuing funding and future expansion plans, including the possibility of a trillion-dollar public offering.

During his testimony, Sutskever spoke extensively about the leadership turmoil that shook OpenAI in 2023. He said he spent nearly a year collecting information for the board that, in his view, showed CEO Sam Altman had a repeated pattern of dishonesty. According to Sutskever, he prepared a detailed document at the board’s request outlining concerns about Altman’s behaviour, including allegations that Altman created divisions among senior executives and undermined internal leadership.

Sutskever confirmed that discussions about removing Altman had been ongoing long before the November 2023 board vote that briefly removed him as CEO. He also testified that he had long conversations about Altman’s conduct with former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. In court, Sutskever argued that Altman’s behaviour did not support OpenAI’s broader mission of developing safe artificial general intelligence.

Although Sutskever played a key role in Altman’s temporary dismissal, he later reversed his position after concerns grew that the company could fall apart. He publicly regretted his involvement in the board’s actions and eventually supported Altman’s return as CEO.

The lawsuit was filed by Musk, who helped launch OpenAI before leaving the board in 2018. Musk claims the company abandoned its nonprofit principles in favour of profit-driven ambitions. He is seeking $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and its major partner Microsoft, with the money intended for OpenAI’s nonprofit entity. Musk is also pushing for Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman to be removed from their leadership positions.

Sutskever further revealed that, after Altman’s removal, OpenAI board members discussed a possible merger with rival AI startup Anthropic that could have placed Anthropic executives in charge of OpenAI. However, he admitted he was uncomfortable with the idea of combining OpenAI with another company.

He also testified that he stayed mostly offline during the chaotic days following Altman’s firing and initially did not know about backup plans being discussed behind the scenes, including Microsoft’s proposal to hire Altman, Brockman, and many OpenAI employees into a separate subsidiary.

Sutskever left OpenAI in 2024 and later launched his own AI company, Safe Superintelligence.

Earlier in the trial, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella described Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI as a calculated strategic move that delivered both business and branding advantages for the company.

Altman is expected to testify on May 12, while final arguments in the closely watched case are scheduled for May 14.

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