The sister of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has filed a lawsuit alleging that he sexually abused her regularly for several years, beginning when they were children.
The lawsuit filed Jan. 6 in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Missouri alleges that the abuse began when Ann Altman was three years old and Sam Altman was 12. The lawsuit alleges that the last instance of abuse took place when he was an adult. but her sister, known as Annie, was still a child.
The CEO of developer ChatGPT posted a joint statement on Xwhich he had signed along with his mother, Connie, and his younger brothers, Max and Jack, denying the accusations and calling them “completely false.”
“Our family loves Annie and is very concerned for her well-being,” the statement said. “Caring for a family member facing mental health issues is incredibly difficult.”
He added: “Annie has made deeply hurtful and completely false statements about our family, and especially about Sam. “This situation causes immense pain to our entire family.”
Ann Altman has previously made similar accusations against her brother on social media platforms.
In the court filing, his lawyers said he had experienced mental health problems as a result of the alleged abuse. The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and damages in excess of $75,000 (£60,000), as well as legal fees.
The family statement said Ann Altman had made “deeply hurtful and completely false statements” about the family and accused her of demanding more money.
They added that they had offered her “monthly financial support” and “tried to get her medical help,” but that she “rejects conventional treatment.”
The family said they had previously decided not to respond publicly to the allegations, but had decided to do so after she decided to take legal action.
Sam Altman, 39, is one of the most prominent leaders in the technology sector and co-founder of OpenAI, best known for ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, which launched in 2022.
The billionaire briefly stepped down as CEO in November 2023 after being removed from the board of directors, which accused him of “not being consistently candid in his communications.” Almost the entire staff threatened to resign and he returned to office the following week. Altman was reinstated to the board in March of last year after an external investigation.