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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Testifies in OpenAI Lawsuit

In Musk v. OpenAI in Oakland, testimony from Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, and Ilya Sutskever highlighted OpenAI’s founding concerns, governance disputes, and shift toward commercialization.

Fact Check
All core facts in the claim are confirmed by multiple independent primary news sources. NBC Bay Area, GeekWire, ABC7, Business Insider, and Quartz all confirm that Satya Nadella testified in the federal trial in Oakland on May 11, 2026. ABC7's live updates explicitly state that Sam Altman testified and 'nearly didn't start OpenAI, believing Google was too far ahead in AI,' which directly matches the claim that 'fears of competing with Google nearly stopped OpenAI from being founded.' The only minor inaccuracy is the case name: the claim calls it 'OpenAI v. Musk' but it is universally referred to as 'Musk v. Altman' in court filings and media. This is a trivial labeling difference that does not affect the substance of the claim. The venue (Oakland federal court) and the identities of the witnesses are fully confirmed.
Summary

Testimony in the federal Musk v. OpenAI case in Oakland, California, has put OpenAI’s founding, governance, and commercialization under renewed scrutiny. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified as the case examined whether OpenAI’s move toward a commercial structure breached charitable trust duties tied to its nonprofit mission. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also testified, saying OpenAI nearly was not founded because of concerns it could not compete with Google. Separately, Ilya Sutskever testified that he spent about a year gathering evidence of Sam Altman’s "systematic lies," compiled it into a 52-page memo for OpenAI’s board, and said he holds about $7 billion in OpenAI shares. The broader dispute, filed by Elon Musk in 2024, also involves Microsoft’s role; Musk has said Microsoft’s 2023 investment was on the $10 billion scale, while Microsoft’s total investment in OpenAI is roughly $13 billion.

Terms & Concepts
  • OpenAI v. Musk trial: A federal court case involving Elon Musk’s claims that OpenAI’s evolution and leadership actions conflicted with its original charitable or nonprofit purposes.
  • charitable trust duties: Legal obligations requiring assets or organizations dedicated to charitable purposes to be managed in line with that mission.
  • commercial structure: A corporate or operating setup designed to support revenue-generating business activity, at issue in OpenAI’s transition.