OpenAI CEO Sam Altman late Tuesday denied allegations in a lawsuit filed by his sister this week accusing the tech billionaire of repeated sexual abuse.
The federal lawsuit, filed in the US Eastern District of Missouri on Monday, alleges that the abuse took place at the family’s home in Clayton, Missouri – starting when Ann Altman, who goes by Annie, was 3 and Sam was 12.
In the filing, Annie claims the abuse took place “several times per week,” beginning with oral sex and later penetration.
The lawsuit claims that “as a direct and proximate result of the foregoing acts of sexual assault,” the plaintiff has experienced “severe emotional distress, mental anguish, and depression, which is expected to continue into the future.”
She is seeking a jury trial and damages in excess of $75,000.
Annie has made public sexual abuse allegations against Sam and their brother, Jack Altman, in the past. In a 2021 post on X, she said she “experienced sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, financial, and technological abuse” from her siblings.
Her lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday night, Sam posted a joint statement with his mother, Connie, and his brothers Jack and Max denying the allegations made in the suit.
“Annie has made deeply hurtful and entirely untrue claims about our family, and especially Sam,” the statement said. “We’ve chosen not to respond publicly, out of respect for her privacy and our own. However, she has now taken legal action against Sam, and we feel we have no choice but to address this.”
The family staunchly denied all of the allegations made in the lawsuit and claimed Annie faces “mental health challenges” and “refuses conventional treatment and lashes out at family members who are genuinely trying to help.”
Sam, his mother and brothers claimed they have paid Annie’s bills, covered her rent, helped her find job opportunities, attempted to get her medical help and offered to buy her a house through a trust.
Sam Altman’s OpenAI has soared in popularity since the launch of its AI chatbot ChatGPT – which Annie has previously claimed Sam “shadowbanned” her from using, according to the family’s statement.
The company was most recently valued at $157 billion after a $6.6 billion funding round in October – with backers like Microsoft and Nvidia.
In November 2023, OpenAI’s board ousted Altman from his role as chief executive, but he was soon reinstated thanks to investor support.
Altman is also currently embroiled in a legal battle with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI who cut ties with the firm in 2018.
The SpaceX CEO is trying to keep Altman from turning OpenAI into a for-profit company. He initially slapped Altman with a lawsuit in March, but withdrew the complaint filed in a San Francisco state court and refiled it in a federal court.
OpenAI has claimed that Musk “not only wanted, but actually created, a for-profit” structure for the firm when he was still involved with the company in 2017.
