OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman disclosed in court testimony Monday that his stake in the company is valued at nearly $30 billion, a figure at the center of a high-stakes legal battle questioning whether the artificial intelligence firm has drifted from its original nonprofit mission.
The revelation came during the fourth day of a trial filed by billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who is suing Brockman and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman.
Musk alleges that OpenAI unlawfully shifted from a charitable organization into a for-profit enterprise, despite its founding goal of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.
Brockman, who took the witness stand in a tense and combative session, was repeatedly questioned about the size of his stake and whether such wealth aligns with OpenAI’s mission.
Under cross-examination, Musk’s lawyer Steven Molo pressed him on whether his financial gain contradicted the organization’s stated purpose.
“You just happen to be $30 billion richer?” Molo asked.
“Compensation was certainly secondary to the mission,” Brockman responded.
The OpenAI president maintained that the organization’s core mission has not changed, even as it adopted a hybrid structure involving a nonprofit foundation and a for-profit arm known as a public-benefit corporation. He said the nonprofit remains in control, while the for-profit entity operates under obligations to balance shareholder interests with public benefit.
Brockman also testified that his equity stake was granted in 2018, years before the launch of ChatGPT, when OpenAI’s commercial success was uncertain. He added that he did not participate in the board vote that approved his compensation.
Molo, however, repeatedly returned to the $30 billion valuation, at one point suggesting the structure had become a “money-making machine” that enriched its founders. The judge struck down several of the lawyer’s remarks as argumentative during the heated exchange.
At another point, Molo referenced a 2017 journal entry in which Brockman wrote, “Financially, what will take me to $1B?” Brockman told the court that financial considerations were secondary to his work at OpenAI.
Musk’s lawsuit argues that Brockman, Altman, and others breached their fiduciary duties to OpenAI’s original charitable mission and improperly benefited from its transformation into a commercial powerhouse. The company, now widely known for its AI chatbot ChatGPT, was recently valued at $852 billion following a funding round.
Brockman emphasized that OpenAI has evolved with contributions from thousands of employees since Musk left the organization’s board in 2018. “That is something that we’ve built through blood, sweat and tears,” he said.
The trial, which features testimony from some of Silicon Valley’s most influential figures, is expected to have far-reaching implications for the future structure of artificial intelligence companies and the balance between profit and public interest in emerging technologies.
Musk, whose net worth is estimated at $657 billion, did not testify in Monday’s proceedings but remains a central figure in the case that could reshape one of the world’s most valuable AI companies.