OpenAI President Brockman Evades in Musk Trial Testimony
Greg Brockman, OpenAI's president, took the stand in Elon Musk's lawsuit against the company. He proved to be a challenging witness, quibbling over every small point. During cross-examination, which came before direct questioning, Brockman often said things like he would not describe events that way or needed full context for statements.
When Musk's lawyer, Steven Molo, read evidence, Brockman corrected omissions of words such as "a" or "the." Asked if Microsoft's $10 billion investment stood as the largest financial milestone for OpenAI, Brockman noted it was simply the only one of that size.
Journal Entries Expose Early Doubts
Brockman's personal journals, text files from his computer, provided clear evidence of his mindset around 2017. One entry stated: "btw another realization from this is that it'd be wrong to steal the non-profit from him. to convert to a b-corp without him. that'd be pretty morally bankrupt and he's really not an idiot." Another read: "maybe we should just flip to a for-profit. making money for us sounds great and all." A third warned: "cannot say we are committed to the non-profit. don't wanna say we're committed. if three months later we're doing a b-corp it is a lie."
These words echoed Musk's accusations of turning a charity into a profit-driven entity. The journals also included the line "What will take me to $1B?" Musk's team highlighted Brockman's stake in OpenAI's for-profit arm, valued at about $30 billion. Molo pressed why Brockman had not donated $29 billion to the nonprofit if $1 billion sufficed for him.
Brockman responded with talk about the nonprofit's holdings in the for-profit, but that missed the point. The exchange dragged on, with the jury following closely. He never gave a straight answer.
Disputes Over Trivial Details
No issue seemed too minor for Brockman to contest. Molo inquired if purple boxes in OpenAI documents drew attention to key terms. Brockman denied it at first. The document then showed purple boxes marked important sections in employee and investor papers. Notes captured the frustration: "Why are we fighting about the fucking purple box?"
Molo pointed to OpenAI deals with firms where Brockman held stakes: Cerebras, CoreWeave, Stripe, and Helion Energy. While Stripe's link appeared routine given its broad use, the commitments boosted Cerebras and CoreWeave significantly.
Brockman shared financial links to Sam Altman via a 1 percent stake in Altman's family office. This came instead of Y Combinator stock, as supplies ran low for other hires. In a 2017 email, Jared Birchall informed Musk of the arrangement. Musk forwarded it to Brockman with "??" Brockman then explained it to him.
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Brockman's Role and OpenAI Origins
In direct testimony, Brockman described his duties simply: "I do all the things." He recounted OpenAI's start as his and Altman's joint vision. Leaving Stripe, Brockman mentioned interest in AI to Altman, who shared the same thought. They stayed connected.
The initial plan involved a Y Combinator research group, but Musk rejected ties to Y Combinator. Brockman painted a picture of shared meals, Napa trips where traffic went unnoticed amid lively talks, and AI events. He detailed Ilya Sutskever's indecision over leaving Google and shared a photo from OpenAI's first day at his apartment. Altman appeared; Musk did not.
Only after Musk joined calls with the assembled team did he seek deeper involvement. Musk came across as remote, sometimes intimidating. At one dinner, he questioned if Google's Denis Hassabis was evil. Brockman called Musk "very consistent and fixated" on Hassabis, ignoring Larry Page, whom Musk credited for sparking OpenAI.
Text messages from Sutskever to Brockman noted: "Elon might spend half a day a week with us. I imagined how it will be and I worry that our work environment can become very stressful."
Sutskever's concern proved valid, given Musk's reputation for intensity. The trial pits two figures with credibility issues against each other. The jury faces a tough choice on whom to believe.
This coverage forms part of live updates from the Elon Musk and Sam Altman court battle over OpenAI's direction. OpenAI began in 2015 as a nonprofit focused on safe AI development, with Musk as a cofounder alongside Altman and Brockman. Tensions grew over its 2019 shift to a for-profit model capped by nonprofit oversight, prompting Musk's 2024 lawsuit alleging betrayal of original open-source, nonprofit goals.