OAKLAND, California - In testimony before a California court, Greg Brockman, co-founder and president of OpenAI, revealed a previously unreported valuation for his stake in the company and outlined financial connections to CEO Sam Altman that are central to a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk.
Brockman acknowledged that his OpenAI holdings are worth close to $30 billion, a figure that had not been made public before his court appearance. Those remarks came as Musk’s lawyers sought to show that Brockman’s objectivity may have been affected by incentives tying him to Altman at the same time OpenAI was transforming its legal and financial structure.
The suit, brought by Musk - who helped found OpenAI and later left its board - alleges that the organization abandoned its nonprofit mission and improperly shifted to a for-profit structure, enriching its leadership in the process. Musk is pursuing removal of Altman and Brockman from their roles and seeks $150 billion in damages, while asserting claims that include breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment.
Family-office stake and a 2017 arrangement
Under questioning, Brockman said that Altman granted him an ownership interest in Altman’s personal family office in 2017. At that time the stake was worth $10 million, Brockman said. That same year, he testified, he and other OpenAI executives, including Musk, discussed restructuring the organization into a for-profit vehicle to fund the substantial computing costs required to train advanced AI models.
Emails introduced at trial further described the family-office arrangement. Jared Birchall, head of Musk’s family office, emailed Musk noting that Altman had "compensated Greg on the side" by giving him a percentage ownership of the family office, and suggested the arrangement could result in Brockman having a "greater allegiance to Sam as a result of this arrangement." Musk forwarded that email to Brockman with question marks appended.
When asked directly whether he felt loyalty to Altman, Brockman responded, "I don't know I would say it quite like that," according to the transcript of his testimony.
Holdings in Altman-backed ventures
Brockman also disclosed ownership stakes in two startups associated with Altman. He confirmed that he owns shares in Cerebras, an AI chip developer that OpenAI has evaluated as a supplier and plans to buy chips from. Brockman’s stake included holdings during periods when OpenAI discussed purchasing from Cerebras.
He additionally said he holds a stake in Helion Energy, a fusion energy company in which Altman has invested substantial sums. The testimony noted that Altman stepped down from Helion’s board in March when the companies were negotiating potential collaboration.
Broader stakes and potential consequences
The courtroom exchanges occurred in the second week of the trial, which could have major implications for the future governance and structure of OpenAI. The company has grown rapidly since launching the ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022 and has raised what the testimony described as well over $100 billion from investors to expand research, secure computing resources and scale operations as it contemplates an eventual initial public offering that some have projected could be in the trillion-dollar range.
Musk, who is now CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, contends that he provided $38 million in donations and other support under the expectation OpenAI would remain a nonprofit prioritizing safe development of artificial intelligence. The complaint argues that the organization pivoted away from those goals to establish a for-profit entity that benefited its leaders financially.
OpenAI has countered by saying Musk seeks control of the organization and harbors resentment over its performance since his departure from the board in 2018. The company has also accused Musk of not prioritizing safety during his tenure and suggested he is attempting to boost his own AI venture, xAI, which it says trails OpenAI in user adoption.
What was established on the record
- Brockman testified his stake in OpenAI is worth nearly $30 billion.
- He confirmed a 2017 transfer of a stake in Altman’s family office, valued then at $10 million.
- Brockman acknowledged ownership in Cerebras and Helion, companies in which Altman has invested or been involved.
The testimony and documents presented are part of Musk’s wider claims that the organization reneged on its original nonprofit mission and improperly enriched its leaders - allegations that remain subject to court adjudication.