Meta Urges California Attorney General To Block OpenAI Changes To Profit Companies

OpenAI also faces a lawsuit from Elon Musk (photo: x @openai)

JAKARTA Meta Platforms Inc. has sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta asking OpenAI's plan to switch to a profit-based company to be blocked, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, December 13.

In the letter, Meta stated that a change in OpenAI's business structure would create a dangerous precedent for startups. Meta highlights that OpenAI has enjoyed a nonprofit status advantage that is close to profitability, a practice that is considered unfair.

"OpenAI behavior can have a big impact on Silicon Valley. If OpenAI's new business model is allowed, nonprofit investors will get the same big profits as traditional investors in profit companies, while enjoying tax deductions from the government," reads the contents of the Meta letter quoted by WSJ.

Meanwhile, OpenAI is also facing a lawsuit from Elon Musk, one of its original founders, who accused the company of violating contracts and prioritizing profits over the public interest. Musk has even asked a court in California to issue a temporary order to stop OpenAI's changes to a profit company.

Responding to this situation, OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor stated that the restructuring is being planned to ensure that OpenAI's nonprofit entities remain and have full value over its shares in the new profit company.

Musk, who has now launched a competing AI company called xAI, has the support of Meta in his footsteps to represent the public interest in OpenAI's fate.

This case reflects the growing tension in the world of technology over the balance between innovation, social responsibility, and potential commercial gains.