Zoe Kleinman: Why the AI industry is the real winner of the Musk-Altman trial

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Zoe Kleinman: Why the AI industry is the real winner of the Musk-Altman trial25 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleZoe KleinmanTechnology editorReuters/Vicki BehringerThe colourful California trial put the men jostling for power at the top of the AI industry on full displayIt is not only OpenAI but the AI race itself that was vindicated in the California courtroom last night. Even though Elon Musk essentially lost on a technicality, there's a clear signal from the verdict that making lots of money from AI and competing fiercely with rivals is simply business. The industry sometimes tries to display a united front, especially when it comes to safety, research and inclusivity.

But this case served as a powerful reminder that none of the AI giants are charities and don't have to be, even if they once said otherwise. Cracks in the façade of industry collaboration for the sake of humanity have been exposed before. In February I was in India for a global AI Summit, where host Prime Minister Narendra Modi orchestrated the world's tech leaders to hold hands on-stage.

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Sam Altman and Anthropic boss Dario Amodei, once colleagues at OpenAI and now bitter rivals, found themselves side-by-side. This time, they pointedly clenched their fists into tight balls to avoid touching one another. Similarly "petty" drama during the trial in Oakland, California these last weeks has helped lift the veil on the AI sector - and the huge egos of the men at the heart of it jostling for money and power.

Nobody came out of it looking particularly heroic. Buying timeAmid a chorus of concern that AI firms have been overvalued and the sector could be a bubble about to burst, the trial may have bought the industry more time. Some also speculated that OpenAI could not afford to lose.

The company has burned through huge volumes of investor cash and recently hired a chief revenue officer, Denise Dresser, to help raise its own money. I met Dresser, who joined OpenAI from US payment giant Stripe, a few days ago. She would not discuss the case, but told me the ChatGPT-maker plans to raise 50% of its revenue from consumers and 50% from businesses.

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Its popular chatbot barely got a mention - it was all about the company's coding agent Codex, which Dresser described as her "chief of staff". Prior to the verdict, the economist and author Sebastian Mallaby predicted OpenAI had a 50% chance of going bust by next year. Not having to pay billions of dollars to Musk in damages may help those odds.

In addition to Dresser's plans, the path is now also clear for OpenAI to pursue a stock market listing, with rumours of a trillion dollar valuation.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.