Former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever took the witness stand on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Elon Musk’s ongoing trial against OpenAI and Microsoft, offering testimony that cut both ways — supporting elements of Musk’s case while ultimately bolstering OpenAI’s core defense.
Sutskever testified that he helped orchestrate Sam Altman’s brief removal as OpenAI CEO in November 2023, saying he had collected evidence of Altman’s alleged history of deception and assisted in drafting a memo to the board. He said he backed the firing because an environment where “executives don’t have the correct information” is not “conducive to reach any grand goal.” However, he also criticized his fellow board members for rushing the process, lacking experience, and following poor legal advice.
During his roughly one-hour appearance in a US district courtroom before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, Sutskever disclosed that he holds an ownership stake in OpenAI’s $850-billion for-profit arm currently worth approximately $7 billion, making him one of the largest known individual shareholders. OpenAI president Greg Brockman had earlier acknowledged holding around $30 billion in OpenAI shares.
On the central question in Musk’s lawsuit — whether Altman and Brockman violated commitments made when Musk funded the OpenAI nonprofit — Sutskever sided with OpenAI. He said Musk never negotiated any special promises, and that transitioning to a for-profit structure was the consensus path forward given the enormous capital required. “If there’s no funding, there is no big computer,” he said.
Sutskever, who left OpenAI in 2024 to found a competing AI lab, appeared visibly affected by his departure. “I felt a great deal of ownership of OpenAI,” he said. “I felt like I put my life into it, and I simply cared for it, and I didn’t want it to be destroyed.”
Also testifying Monday were Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor. Nadella described the 2023 board decision to fire Altman as “amateur city” and revealed that Microsoft had discussed 14 potential board candidates ahead of Altman’s reinstatement. Nadella also acknowledged that Microsoft had pushed for a stronger partnership after internal emails showed the company expected to “lose 4 bil next year” from the OpenAI relationship.
Source: WIRED