OpenAI has asked a U.S. court to compel Meta to hand over evidence related to any potential coordination with Elon Musk’s xAI on a bid to acquire the ChatGPT-maker.
In a filing made public on Thursday, OpenAI’s lawyers said Meta was subpoenaed in June for documents concerning its possible involvement in Musk’s unsolicited $97 billion offer earlier this year. The filing claims that Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg communicated “about potential financing arrangements or investments” related to the takeover attempt.
Although Meta objected to the subpoena in July, OpenAI is now seeking a court order. The company also wants access to Meta’s internal documents concerning any restructuring or recapitalization plans for OpenAI — a central issue in Musk’s lawsuit.
The billionaire entrepreneur is suing OpenAI over its conversion into a for-profit benefit corporation, alleging it violates the startup’s founding mission. OpenAI maintains the restructuring was essential for raising investment and scaling its AI research.
Meta, meanwhile, has invested heavily in its own AI ambitions but reportedly fell behind OpenAI’s GPT-4 by 2025, fueling Zuckerberg’s aggressive recruitment of top AI talent from rivals.
A spokesperson for Meta pointed out that neither the company nor Zuckerberg signed Musk’s letter of intent to acquire OpenAI. Both OpenAI and Musk’s legal counsel declined to comment.
