During an interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Tucker Carlson suggested Altman may have played a role in the death of former employee Suchir Balaji.

Balaji, a former researcher at OpenAI, died in November, three months after leaving the company. The San Francisco Chief Medical Examiner's office ruled his death a suicide, with no indications of foul play.

However, Balaji’s mother, Poornima Ramarao, has expressed her belief that her son was murdered in connection with his upcoming testimony in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by The New York Times against OpenAI and Microsoft. Ramarao voiced her suspicions on Carlson’s show earlier this year.

During an interview with Altman, Carlson suggested that Balaji was murdered, a claim that Altman vehemently denied, maintaining that Balaji’s death was a suicide.

"This was a friend of mine, not a close friend, but this is someone who worked at OpenAI for a very long time. I was really shaken by this tragedy. I spent a lot of time trying to read everything I could about what happened. It looks like a suicide to me."

Despite Altman’s denial, Carlson continued to insinuate that Altman may have been involved in Balaji’s death, even suggesting that Balaji’s mother believes Altman orchestrated her son’s murder.

Also Read: OpenAI's Sam Altman Reaches Out to Elon Musk Amid Ongoing Social Media Spat: ‘Let's Be Friends'

Elon Musk has also supported the murder theory in a response to a post about Carlson's interview.

Earlier this year, Musk filed a lawsuit against Altman and OpenAI, alleging that they had violated the company's founding principles by partnering with Microsoft.

This accusation comes at a time when OpenAI, under Altman’s leadership, is facing a lawsuit from Elon Musk’s Grok. The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI betrayed its founding principles by partnering with Microsoft.

The alleged murder of Balaji, who was set to testify in a copyright infringement case against OpenAI and Microsoft, adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing legal battles.

The outcome of these cases could have significant implications for OpenAI and its future operations.

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Image: Shutterstock/Meir Chaimowitz

This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.