Microsoft is often lauded for backing OpenAI years before ChatGPT catapulted generative AI into the mainstream and sparked the ongoing AI arms race. But at the time, was the Windows-maker confident it was the right call? How much conviction did Microsoft’s top executives really have in OpenAI? What doubts surfaced behind the scenes? And did the threat of losing ground to cloud rivals such as Amazon ultimately force its hand? These questions may have likely remained unanswered, if not for the legal battle between Elon Musk and OpenAI. The ongoing civil trial taking place in a US federal courthouse in Oakland, California, United States, stems from Musk’s lawsuit accusing OpenAI of betraying ‌its ⁠original nonprofit mission to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of humanity, by transitioning to a for-profit structure. Besides changes to its leadership, Musk is seeking $150 billion ​in damages ⁠from OpenAI as well as Microsoft, one of its largest investors.…