Ilya Sutskever Testifies His $7B OpenAI Stake and Altman Ouster Rationale

Ilya Sutskever, former OpenAI chief scientist and now founder of rival AI lab SSI, took the stand in the final stretch of Elon Musk's trial against OpenAI and Microsoft. His testimony revealed that he holds an ownership stake in OpenAI's for-profit entity that is currently worth approximately $7 billion, making him one of the largest individual shareholders. Sutskever defended his role in the brief ouster of CEO Sam Altman in November 2023, saying he acted because 'an environment where executives don’t have the correct information' was not conducive to achieving AGI. He expressed regret over the board's execution, calling it rushed and lacking experience, and noted the legal advice they received was subpar.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also testified, calling the firing 'amateur city' and stating he never received clarity on the reasons. Nadella revealed that Microsoft discussed 14 potential board members for a restructured OpenAI, vetoing at least two. Sutskever's testimony supported Musk's contention that Altman is unfit to lead an AGI-focused lab, but also undermined Musk's claims by stating that turning OpenAI into a for-profit was the consensus to raise the enormous capital needed for advanced computing. Sutskever, who left OpenAI in 2024, appeared dejected, saying he felt a great sense of ownership over the company and didn't want it destroyed.