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A third billionaire testifies in OpenAI trial: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

Nbcwashington · · 734 words · By David Ingram; NBC News
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/microsoft-ceo-satya-na…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

17 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 7
schedule Pending 7
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
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“Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took the witness stand Monday in a trial about control of the artificial intelligence startup OpenAI”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified in the trial regarding the control of OpenAI.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gemini (also known as Google Gemini and formerly known as Bard) is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot and virtual assistant developed by Google. It is powered by the family of large language…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Gemini
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On November 17, 2023, OpenAI's board of directors ousted co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman. In an official post on the company's website, it was stated that "the board no longer has confidence…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Sam_Altman_from_Ope…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Satya Narayana Nadella (born 19 August 1967) is an Indian-American business executive. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Microsoft, succeeding Steve Ballmer in 2014 as CEO and Jo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satya_Nadella
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Nadella’s testimony follows earlier appearances by Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and a co-founder of OpenAI, and Greg Brockman, the president and co-founder of OpenAI.”
CORROBORATED
Evidence confirms the trial involves Elon Musk and Greg Brockman, and specifically mentions Nadella as a 'third billionaire' testifying, implying previous testimony by others like Musk.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gregory Brockman (born November 29, 1987) is an American entrepreneur and software engineer. He is co-founder and president of OpenAI. He began his career at Stripe in 2010, upon leaving MIT, and beca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Brockman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The legal affairs of Elon Musk encompass the legal cases involving Elon Musk as the plaintiff, defendant, or concerning his companies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_Elon_Musk
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Musk v. Altman is an ongoing lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in which Elon Musk accuses OpenAI and its executives, including CEO Sam Altman, of viol…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musk_v._Altman
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, took the witness stand later Monday and said his stake in OpenAI’s for-profit arm is worth about $7 billion.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results for 'Ilya' returned irrelevant results (a hockey player and a restaurant) and did not provide information regarding Ilya Sutskever's testimony or the value of his stake.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Ilya Kovalchuk (born 1983), Russian ice hockey winger in the KHL, formerly for the Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, L.A. Kings and Washington Capitals of the NHL
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilya
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Each pour complements the coastal flavors and the effortless elegance of ILYA’s atmosphere. Bask in sun-washed interiors, ocean-inspired design, and a dining experience that feels both refined and rel…
https://ilyarestaurant.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — About the Business ILYA is a coastal Mediterranean restaurant rooted in warmth, simplicity, and refined flavor. Inspired by the meaning of its name—derived from elia, the Greek word for olive tree—ILY…
https://www.yelp.com/biz/ilya-restaurant-san-clemente
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“OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, is scheduled to testify later in the week.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources state that Sam Altman is expected to testify or will defend himself at the trial.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI is a book by Karen Hao released on May 20, 2025. It focuses on the history of OpenAI and its culture of secrecy and devotion to the promise o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_AI
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On November 17, 2023, OpenAI's board of directors ousted co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman. In an official post on the company's website, it was stated that "the board no longer has confidence…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Sam_Altman_from_Ope…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Samuel Harris Altman (born April 22, 1985) is an American entrepreneur who has been the chief executive officer (CEO) of the artificial intelligence company OpenAI since 2019. Altman attended Stanford…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Altman
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The lawsuit centers around Musk’s claims that OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has strayed from its original mission as a nonprofit research center.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources confirm the core of the lawsuit is Musk's claim that OpenAI deviated from its original nonprofit mission.
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web search NEUTRAL — Elon Musk is suing OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, arguing it has breached the principles he agreed to when he helped found it in 2015. The lawsuit - which has also been filed against OpenAI boss Sam A…
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68445981
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk’s lawsuit essentially claims that OpenAI has deviated from its original nonprofit mission: ensuring that AGI, a highly advanced AI system capable of performing various tasks, is beneficial to hum…
https://altagic.com/blog/the-struggle-for-the-essence-of-ope…
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk alleges that OpenAI has strayed from its original nonprofit mission of developing AI to benefit humanity. This legal battle stems from Musk’s claims that OpenAI is now focused on profit-seeking a…
https://www.justthink.ai/blog/elon-musk-files-lawsuit-agains…
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“Altman and Brockman say that OpenAI is still controlled by a nonprofit foundation, despite having a for-profit arm with outside investors.”
CORROBORATED
Evidence indicates that OpenAI claims its Foundation still controls the group and that commercialization is a funding mechanism for the nonprofit mission.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gregory Brockman (born November 29, 1987) is an American entrepreneur and software engineer. He is co-founder and president of OpenAI. He began his career at Stripe in 2010, upon leaving MIT, and beca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Brockman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On November 17, 2023, OpenAI's board of directors ousted co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman. In an official post on the company's website, it was stated that "the board no longer has confidence…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Sam_Altman_from_Ope…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Samuel Harris Altman (born April 22, 1985) is an American entrepreneur who has been the chief executive officer (CEO) of the artificial intelligence company OpenAI since 2019. Altman attended Stanford…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Altman
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Musk... started his own AI company, xAI, now part of SpaceX.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results explicitly state that Elon Musk founded xAI and that it merged with SpaceX.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Elon Musk merges Texas-based SpaceX with startup xAI. What to know.The merger is part of Musk's long-term plan to build orbital data centers in space. The combined company is valued at $1.25 trillion,…
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2026/02/04/spacex-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Focus: Space transportation and satellite internet. Musk’s Role: Founder and CEO. Founded by Musk in 2002, SpaceX has transformed the aerospace industry with its reusable rockets, greatly reducing the…
https://builtin.com/articles/elon-musk-companies
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web search NEUTRAL — Founded by Elon Musk and 11 researchers in 2023,[4][1] the company's flagship products are the generative AI chatbot named Grok, Grokipedia, and the social network X, which was acquired in March 2025 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceXAI_(company)
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“Microsoft is a co-defendant in the case through its partnership with OpenAI.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly state that Microsoft is a co-defendant in the case due to its partnership with OpenAI.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elon Musk is the wealthiest person in the world that’s been verified, with an estimated net worth of US$659 billion as of May 2026, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and $788 billion acco…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_of_Elon_Musk
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Musk v. Altman is an ongoing lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in which Elon Musk accuses OpenAI and its executives, including CEO Sam Altman, of viol…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musk_v._Altman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — OpenAI Group PBC, doing business as OpenAI, is an American artificial intelligence (AI) research organization headquartered in San Francisco, consisting of a for-profit public benefit corporation (PBC…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“In 2019, Microsoft agreed to invest $1 billion in OpenAI’s for-profit arm and provide cloud computing services in exchange for rights to a share of profits and an exclusive license to commercialize one of OpenAI’s models for a year.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm the specific details of the 2019 investment agreement.
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“Microsoft added another $2 billion in 2021 and another $10 billion in 2023, after OpenAI had released ChatGPT.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm the specific investment amounts for 2021 and 2023.
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““This does seem like the opposite of open. OpenAI is essentially captured by Microsoft,” Musk wrote on Twitter, now X, in September [2020].”
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“U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers cited the notes as one piece of “considerable evidence” for sending the accusation against Microsoft to trial.”
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“In 2023, when Altman was briefly ousted as OpenAI CEO, Nadella on a podcast emphasized how tight they had become. “We are below them, above them, around them,” Nadella said on the podcast, “On with Kara Swisher.””
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“Musk sued in 2024, saying his past donations to OpenAI totaling $38 million gave him a special interest in seeing that it remained a nonprofit research center.”
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“He had also founded xAI a year earlier.”
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“Nadella became Microsoft’s CEO in 2014, succeeding Steve Ballmer.”
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“He has a net worth of $1.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.