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Oakland Jury Selected for $157 B OpenAI Charity Suit

4/28/2026

28 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Jury selection began Monday in Oakland for a lawsuit alleging OpenAI turned a charity into a $157 billion for-profit entity, violating law.
The suit seeks removal of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman and over $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft.
OpenAI says Musk pursued a merger, calls the case a tactic to promote xAI, and notes that the judge made jurors advisory in a pool three times larger than typical.

History

Historical Context

The 1998 United States v. Microsoft antitrust suit, launched by the DOJ under Attorney General Janet Reno, led to a 2001 settlement that forced Microsoft to disclose APIs and accept a three-investigator monitoring panel. Decades later, jurors in Oakland are hearing an OpenAI lawsuit—backed by Sam Altman and Microsoft—accusing the firm of turning a nonprofit into a $157 billion for-profit venture, reviving fears of tech dominance.

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Story summary

Jury selection began Monday in Oakland for a lawsuit alleging OpenAI turned a charity into a $157 billion for-profit entity, violating law.
The suit seeks removal of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman and over $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft.
OpenAI says Musk pursued a merger, calls the case a tactic to promote xAI, and notes that the judge made jurors advisory in a pool three times larger than typical.

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