During a public event in San Francisco focused on leadership and innovation, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was attempted to be served a subpoena. The incident occurred while Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was also on stage with him.
This is reported by Finway
Subpoena Incident at the Event
According to meeting organizer Manny Yekutiel, an unidentified man ascended the stage immediately after Altman and Kerr sat down next to him, announcing his intention to deliver a subpoena to the OpenAI leader. The host quickly intervened, taking the paper and handing it over to security personnel. The event was broadcast live and continued for over an hour after the incident without further occurrences. Witnesses reported that Sam Altman and Steve Kerr appeared surprised, but the situation stabilized quickly.
Stop AI Claims Responsibility
The group Stop AI, which advocates for a complete ban on the development of artificial superintelligence, took responsibility for the attempt to serve the subpoena. Representatives of the organization explained that the subpoena is related to a lawsuit concerning acts of nonviolent civil disobedience, specifically blocking the entrance to OpenAI’s office. Activists emphasize that their goal is to raise public awareness of the potential threats that AI development may pose to humanity.
“Our public defender successfully summoned Sam Altman to court for appearing in a trial where we will be judged for repeatedly blocking the entrance doors of OpenAI and obstructing the road in front of their office through nonviolent means. All our nonviolent actions against OpenAI have been…”
Stop AI positions itself as a nonviolent civil resistance organization working towards a permanent ban on the development of artificial superintelligence technologies. According to activists, this aims to prevent massive job losses, the risk of human extinction, and other negative consequences.
At the time of this report, neither Sam Altman nor representatives of OpenAI had provided official comments regarding the incident.
In October 2025, OpenAI announced the completion of the asset distribution process between the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation and the commercial entity OpenAI Group. With the new corporate structure, OpenAI now has the ability to attract investments and expand its business without prior legal restrictions.
Previously, Sam Altman reported that OpenAI’s annual revenue significantly exceeds $13 billion.