Ilya Sutskever reveals a $7 billion stake in OpenAI during his testimony in the litigation involving Musk.

      The previous chief scientist of OpenAI, who currently heads Safe Superintelligence, provided this information under oath, positioning him among the largest individual shareholders of the company. Ilya Sutskever, the former chief scientist of OpenAI and now the director of Safe Superintelligence Inc., revealed during his testimony in the Musk-OpenAI lawsuit on Monday that his stake in OpenAI is valued at around $7 billion, according to Reuters and other sources.

      This revelation makes Sutskever one of the biggest individual shareholders in OpenAI, alongside Sam Altman and a few early investors. As a co-founder of OpenAI and one of its most referenced researchers, Sutskever left the organization in May 2024 amid a boardroom conflict that temporarily ousted Altman from the CEO position.

      Sutskever’s testimony was part of Elon Musk’s ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI, which questions OpenAI's shift from a non-profit research organization to a capped-profit and commercial model, seeking the court's reassessment of the governance structures that facilitated this change. He was called as a witness due to his co-founder status and his role on the board during the disputed timeframe. The $7 billion valuation was mentioned in response to inquiries about his financial ties to the company. OpenAI recently completed its latest primary funding round at a post-money valuation of $852 billion.

      Details regarding Sutskever’s holdings had not been publicly disclosed before this. Commentary on the composition of OpenAI's cap table has been scarce; secondary-market valuations suggest significant differences between the primary round valuation and recent secondary transactions.

      Sutskever's current enterprise, Safe Superintelligence, achieved a valuation of $32 billion in its latest funding round, having raised over $3 billion so far without revealing a public product. The company focuses, as suggested by its name, on developing safe superintelligence, operating solely on a research basis under Sutskever’s leadership.

      The disclosure of Sutskever’s stake in OpenAI carries procedural importance for Musk's case for several reasons. It delineates the extent of financial interest retained by the original founding group following OpenAI’s restructuring; it provides Musk's legal team with a reference point for arguing that OpenAI's transition favored a select group of insiders; and it complicates Sutskever's role as a witness since his testimony relates to an asset he possesses.

      Court documents have not specified the exact legal nature of Sutskever’s stake (whether common, preferred, or profit-participation units) or the vesting timeline. OpenAI has declined to comment on Sutskever's testimony, citing ongoing litigation, and Sutskever himself has not publicly addressed the disclosure.

      The Musk lawsuit is being processed in the Northern District of California, with the trial scheduled for autumn, though several procedural motions are still pending. The court has hinted at the possibility of combining Musk’s claims with related shareholder and stakeholder lawsuits that were filed in late 2025.

      The $7 billion figure is significant even in relation to OpenAI's recent valuation. With an implied stake of approximately 0.8%, Sutskever is firmly placed among OpenAI’s top individual shareholders, although he holds less than Altman and substantially less than the stakes owned by institutional investors like Microsoft, SoftBank, Amazon, and Nvidia.