Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and prominent Silicon Valley entrepreneur, has been accused of sexually abusing his sister, Ann Altman, for nearly a decade, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court.
The plaintiff, Ann Altman, 30, alleges that the abuse began when she was three years old and continued while the siblings were growing up in Missouri in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The last alleged incident occurred when Mr. Altman, now 39, was an adult, and she was still a minor.
The lawsuit, dated Jan 6, comes after Ms. Altman had previously claimed on social media that her brother had abused her.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Jan 7, Mr. Altman denied the allegations, calling them “utterly untrue.” The statement, issued on behalf of himself, his mother, and his brothers, expressed deep pain over the situation and its impact on their family.
Sam Altman rose to international prominence following the release of OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, in late 2022, a landmark in artificial intelligence technology. Although he has publicly stated that he does not own equity in OpenAI, Bloomberg News estimated his personal net worth in 2024 at over $2 billion, stemming from various venture capital and startup investments.
Under Missouri law, claims of childhood sexual abuse can be brought by plaintiffs until the age of 31. Ms. Altman is seeking damages for severe emotional distress and mounting medical bills related to mental health treatment.
No further comment has been issued from Mr. Altman or his legal team as of now.