OpenAI CEO Altman sues sister after her abuse lawsuit
Kyiv • UNN
The CEO of OpenAI denies his sister's accusations and asks the court to dismiss the lawsuit. He filed a counterclaim for defamation and is seeking one dollar.
Sam Altman is seeking to dismiss his sister's claim for punitive damages in a civil lawsuit in which she accuses the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI of repeated sexual abuse committed more than two decades ago, an accusation he denies, Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Details
In a filing late Wednesday in federal court in St. Louis, USA, Sam Altman stated that Missouri's child sexual abuse law does not provide for punitive damages in Annie Altman's claims, but instead limits them to "damages for injuries or illnesses" caused by childhood sexual abuse.
Sam Altman also stated that punitive damages are not available for actions he allegedly committed as a minor. He renewed his request to dismiss Annie Altman's lawsuit in its entirety.
Annie Altman accused her brother of sexual abuse and rape that occurred between 1997 and 2006 at the family home in suburban Clayton, Missouri, starting when she was three years old and he was twelve. She stated that the last acts of sexual abuse and rape occurred when Sam Altman was already an adult. He is currently 40 years old.
The Altman family stated that Annie Altman has mental health issues and has received financial support. Sam Altman said she began accusing him of sexual abuse on social media after they rejected her exorbitant demands for "more and more financial support."
Her lawsuit was filed in January 2025.
Sam Altman filed a counterclaim against his sister for defamation in connection with her posts, including a video that said "a nearly tech billionaire" sexually abused her.
He is seeking $1, stating that he "does not want to cause his sister financial harm," but wants the court to declare her statements false.
Sam Altman became the face of the artificial intelligence boom after the release of the ChatGPT chatbot in 2022.
He also has a court hearing on April 27 in a lawsuit by another billionaire, Elon Musk, for more than $134 billion, in which he accuses OpenAI of deviating from its mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity and of fraud to obtain donations. OpenAI's partner, Microsoft, is also a defendant.