05:13 AM EST, 11/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with a response from Microsoft ( MSFT ) in the last paragraph.)

Microsoft ( MSFT ) was added to the list of defendants in an amended version of Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI accusing the company of abandoning its non-profit stance, a court filing showed Thursday.

The amended suit also adds LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and former OpenAI board member and Microsoft ( MSFT ) executive Dee Templeton as defendants. It adds Neuralink executive and former OpenAI board member Shivon Zilis, as well as Musk's AI company, xAI, as plaintiffs.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) and OpenAI were accused of "actively trying to eliminate competitors, such as xAI, by extracting promises from investors not to fund them," as well as through what Musk's party described as a "de facto merger" between the two companies, the lawsuit showed.

Musk was one of the founders of OpenAI, which was initially established as a non-profit to research and develop AI for humanitarian purposes, and he left in 2018 after disagreements over the company's direction. The lawsuit claims that OpenAI Chief Executive Samuel Altman used Musk's contributions to the company, when they were philanthropic commitments, for profit ventures.

OpenAI did not respond to MT Newswires' requests for comment. Microsoft ( MSFT ) declined to comment.