OpenAI's trillion-dollar IPO faces uncertainty! Ultraman's $2 billion stake exposed, deep into regulatory storm.

Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI case sees new developments. Documents revealed in a US court on Tuesday show that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman holds shares worth over $2 billion in multiple businesses that have dealings with the artificial intelligence company. Altman is currently embroiled in controversy and regulatory scrutiny, facing accusations of self-dealing by Musk and multiple state attorneys general, as well as a special investigation initiated by the US Congress. This upheaval comes at a crucial window for OpenAI as it aims for a trillion-dollar valuation IPO, casting a shadow over the company's prospects of going public. During the hearing on Tuesday, a list of Altman's investments was disclosed. Musk filed a lawsuit seeking $150 billion in damages and the removal of Altman from his executive and board positions at OpenAI, alleging breach of charitable trust duties and improper profit-seeking behavior. Altman has denied the allegations and argued in court that he actively avoided involvement in crucial discussions regarding personal investments. In addition to Musk's lawsuit, regulatory pressure is also increasing. Ten Republican state attorneys general sent a joint letter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, requesting strict scrutiny of internal documents and related transactions as OpenAI prepares for its IPO milestones. The US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform also sent a letter to Altman last week, requesting submission of relevant documents on conflict of interest prevention measures at OpenAI. During the court hearing on Tuesday, Musk's chief defense lawyer Steven Morlo presented a document revealing Altman's ownership stakes in nine businesses with which OpenAI has business partnerships, along with their corresponding fair market values as of December 31, 2025. Focus on conflicts of interest: which companies did Altman invest in as OpenAI partners? While Altman does not directly hold shares in OpenAI, he is estimated by Forbes to have accumulated a net worth of $4 billion through venture capital investments made before and during his tenure at OpenAI. The disclosed investment list shows Altman's equity stakes in fusion energy company Helion Energy, financial software company Stripe, and anti-aging pharmaceutical company Retro Biosciences, valued at $1.7 billion, $633 million, and $258 million respectively. All three companies have partnerships with OpenAI. The document also revealed that Altman sold off his equity in social platform Reddit (RDDT.US) by the end of 2025. SEC filings show that Altman's stake in Reddit was valued at over $600 million on the day of its listing in 2024. Other companies on Altman's investment list include chip manufacturer Cerebras, human resources software maker Degree (now renamed Lattice), AI hardware maker Humane, AI software maker Software Applications, and AI pharmaceutical company Trialspark (now renamed Formation Bio). Altman testified that he was friends with the founder of Helion Energy and first invested in the company in 2015. While the company, which aims to build the world's first fusion power plant, has not generated revenue, its valuation in the private market has reached $5.4 billion. Altman stated that he proposed exploring the possibility of collaboration with Helion to the OpenAI board at the end of 2022 and believed it to be a good deal. Helion signed an agreement with OpenAI in 2024 to ensure the company's future energy supply. In March 2026, as the two companies were negotiating a larger-scale partnership, Altman resigned from Helion's board of directors. Altman claimed that he abstained from signing any agreement during the negotiations in 2024 involving Reddit. Morlo pointed out a significant conflict of interest in Altman's leadership during the May 2024 negotiations between OpenAI and Reddit for content collaboration. Altman argued, "We agreed to have the final terms approved by the board, with other executives present throughout. This was a standard company's conflict avoidance procedure with full discussion." Morlo also questioned Altman about his $3.2 million stake in Cerebras, which was part of the $10 billion computing power collaboration between OpenAI and the chip manufacturer. Ten Republican state attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and others wrote to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, stating, "Altman's past actions have sparked serious legal disputes that require close scrutiny." The SEC has yet to comment on this matter. How will Musk's "battle" with Altman affect things? The lawsuit filed by Musk against Altman and OpenAI is nearing its conclusion. OpenAI co-founder Musk accuses Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman of deceiving him, leading OpenAI to transition from an AI startup to a for-profit entity. OpenAI, on the other hand, believes that Musk's actions are aimed at slowing down OpenAI and giving his own AI startup, xAI, time to catch up. This "century lawsuit" has already surpassed personal grievances between the two founders. If Musk wins the case, the outcome of the judgment could have wide-ranging implications for OpenAI itself, its business partnership network, and the AI industry. One direct impact is that OpenAI's development path may be rewritten, and its IPO process may face delays. OpenAI's valuation has already reached $852 billion after a major round of financing in March 2026. The company is currently in a crucial window for going public. This legal turmoil may cast a shadow over its prospects of going public, not only affecting investor confidence but also potentially leading to the loss of key talent to competitors like Anthropic and Alphabet Inc. Class C DeepMind, and hindering the company's pace of financing and business expansion. The trillion-dollar partnership network may also be affected. OpenAI has established partnerships with tech giants such as Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Corporation, AMD, and Amazon.com, Inc. with a total value exceeding $840 billion. If the lawsuit hampers OpenAI's IPO expectations and operational stability, the entire AI industry chain will be impacted. Microsoft Corporation, as the largest external shareholder, will be the first to feel the impact, while Oracle Corporation's risk is more concentrated, with over half of its $523 billion backlog orders relying on OpenAI's business and lacking sufficient cash flow buffers to withstand fluctuations. SoftBank and NVIDIA Corporation, which have heavily invested in OpenAI, may also be affected. Lastly, global AI regulation may tighten further, with a focus on examining conflicts of interest among executives. Altman's involvement in controversy over related transactions has drawn significant regulatory attention. Some believe that this case could be a pivotal indicator for global AI regulation, leading to stricter regulatory constraints on executive conflicts of interest and disclosure within AI companies to prevent unethical behavior.