Technology

Elon Musk and Sam Altman Bring OpenAI Trial Spectacle to Oakland

NYTimes Technology • Mon, 27 Apr 2026

Oakland, Calif., where Elon Musk’s trial against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, starts on Monday, is not exactly known as a hub of the tech industry.

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Oakland, Calif., where Elon Musk’s trial against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, starts on Monday, is not exactly known as a hub of the tech industry.

Story details

Oakland, Calif., where Elon Musk’s trial against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, starts on Monday, is not exactly known as a hub of the tech industry.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/technology/altman-musk-openai-ai-oakland.html

Sam Altman and Elon Musk are set to face off in a high-stakes trial that could alter the future of tech’s leading AI startup, OpenAI. The trial begins with jury selection on April 27th, as Musk pushes forward his 2024 lawsuit that accuses OpenAI of abandoning its founding mission of developing AI to benefit humanity […]

OpenAI boss 'deeply sorry' for not telling police of mass shooting suspect's account

Sam Altman on Thursday wrote a brief letter of apology to the people of Tumbler Ridge, Canada in the wake of a January mass shooting.

OpenAI breaks out of exclusivity agreements in its partnership with Microsoft

OpenAI is opening up its partnership with Microsoft in the latest amendment to the major multi-year collaboration between the tech giants. The latest changes allow OpenAI to offer its latest AI models to other companies and through other cloud providers, stripping Microsoft of its exclusivity rights. In a joint announcement posted on OpenAI and Microsoft 's websites, Microsoft will still be OpenAI's primary cloud partner with the latest products shipping first on Azure, but OpenAI is now allowed to use any cloud provider. Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, posted on X that the company is "now able to make our products and services available across all clouds." On top of that, Microsoft will still have a license for OpenAI's models and products through to 2032, but the license will no longer be exclusive. On the business side, Microsoft will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI, but OpenAI would still make revenue share payments to Microsoft until 2030, which will now be subject to a total cap. The two companies have worked closely together since announcing a multiyear partnership in 2019. Microsoft and OpenAI have gone through several phases for its collaboration, but the two put out a joint statement in February of this year that still mentioned the exclusivity agreements. However, the latest update confirms that OpenAI can break exclusivity, with the companies arguing these changes are for "flexibility, certainty, and a focus on delivering the benefits of AI broadly." This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/openai-breaks-out-of-exclusivity-agreements-in-its-partnership-with-microsoft-162829584.html?src=rss

Microsoft and OpenAI Loosen Their Partnership

Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest financial partner, will continue to license the start-up’s technology but will no longer be its exclusive licensee.