Ilya Sutskever reveals $7 billion OpenAI stake in Musk lawsuit testimony
Key Points
- Ilya Sutskever testified his OpenAI stake is worth about $7 billion.
- The disclosure places him among the top individual shareholders alongside Sam Altman.
- OpenAI’s latest primary round valued the company at $852 billion.
- Sutskever’s holding represents roughly 0.8% of OpenAI, less than institutional investors.
- Safe Superintelligence, Sutskever’s own firm, recently hit a $32 billion valuation.
- Musk’s lawsuit challenges OpenAI’s shift from nonprofit to capped‑profit structure.
- The case is being heard in the Northern District of California, with trial set for autumn.
- Details about the exact type of shares Sutskever holds have not been released.
Former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever told a California federal court that his ownership in the artificial‑intelligence firm is worth about $7 billion. The disclosure, made during Elon Musk’s litigation over OpenAI’s shift from nonprofit to capped‑profit status, positions Sutskever among the company’s largest individual shareholders. The testimony adds a new data point to the case, which challenges the governance changes that accompanied OpenAI’s $852 billion valuation.
In a courtroom in the Northern District of California, Ilya Sutskever, the co‑founder of OpenAI and now head of Safe Superintelligence Inc., testified that his stake in the AI powerhouse is valued at roughly $7 billion. The figure emerged as part of Elon Musk’s ongoing lawsuit that questions OpenAI’s transformation from a nonprofit research lab into a capped‑profit, commercial entity.
Sutskever’s answer came after attorneys asked about his current financial relationship with the organization he helped launch. By placing his holding at an estimated $7 billion, the former chief scientist ranks alongside Sam Altman and a handful of early backers as one of the firm’s top individual owners.
The disclosure matters because it quantifies the personal wealth retained by OpenAI’s founding cohort after the company’s 2023 restructuring. Musk’s legal team argues that the shift benefitted a small group of insiders, and Sutskever’s stake provides a concrete illustration of that claim.
OpenAI closed its most recent primary financing round at an $852 billion post‑money valuation. Based on the disclosed amount, Sutskever’s implied ownership hovers around 0.8 percent of the company—significant for an individual but still dwarfed by institutional investors such as Microsoft, SoftBank, Amazon and Nvidia.
Beyond the OpenAI stake, Sutskever’s own venture, Safe Superintelligence, recently achieved a $32 billion valuation after raising more than $3 billion. The firm, which focuses on research‑only approaches to building safe superintelligence, has yet to release a commercial product.
The testimony also underscores the legal complexities surrounding the case. Court filings have not disclosed whether Sutskever’s ownership consists of common shares, preferred stock, or profit‑participation units, nor have they revealed any vesting schedule. OpenAI declined to comment, citing the active litigation, and Sutskever has not issued a public statement.
Musk’s lawsuit, heard in the Northern District of California, seeks to revisit the corporate‑governance arrangements that underpinned OpenAI’s transition. A trial is slated for the autumn, though several procedural motions remain unresolved. The judge has hinted that the case could be consolidated with related shareholder actions filed in late 2025.
While the $7 billion figure is striking in absolute terms, it also highlights the broader debate over how much control and financial benefit the original founders retain in a rapidly scaling AI company. The testimony adds a layer of clarity for the court and for observers tracking the evolving power dynamics within OpenAI.