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Elon Musk says ‘extremely concerning’ after Suchir Balaji's mom accuses AI giant of 'murdering' him

Says son was happy, has celebrated his birthday a day before he died
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Balaji was found dead in his apartment in San Fransisco, California in November of 2024
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Poornima Rao, mother of whistleblower Suchir Balaji has made grave accusations against OpenAI, the company that made ChatGPT. According to Rao, the company allegedly killed her son in order “to hide something they want nobody to know”.

In an interview with American commentator Tucker Carlson, she claimed that her son had documents containing information against them.

Balaji was found dead in his apartment in San Fransisco, California, in November of 2024, not long after he became a whistleblower against OpenAI, the AI giant.

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He had raised moral concerns pertaining to the company’s practices in public shortly before he passed away. His death was ruled as an act of suicide following initial investigation, but his family then demanded an FBI investigation, claiming that he had been murdered.

Poornima Rao said to the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, "My son celebrated his birthday a day before he died. What more do we need to give on account that he was in a happy mood?" Moreover, his father had given him a birthday gift on the day of his death.

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Rao said on record that "My son had documents against OpenAI. They attacked him and killed him," adding that "some documents were missing" after his death, making a serious allegation against the AI giant.

She went on to claim that the company covered up the investigation and any possible witnesses. She said, "Everybody is suppressed, nobody is ready to come up and tell the truth. Even the attorneys have been made to say that it is a suicide."

Tech mogul Elon Musk shared Rao’s interview with Carlson on X, with the caption "Extremely concerning".

Balaji’s mother continued to accuse OpenAI and the authorities involved in the investigation of botching up the inspection and giving her an unconvincing response, saying "It took them (authorities) more than 14 minutes to determine the cause of death and tell me that it was a suicide."

She also accused the police of withholding information from her and being dishonest. "I knew that my son was dead by looking at the white van," she said, adding that the cops kept making excuses to delay the information. "In the evening, they returned the keys to me and told me that I could pick up the body tomorrow," she said.

Earlier, Rao had made a post on X, saying that her son’s "apartment was ransacked" and there was allegedly a "sign of struggle in the bathroom". She also claimed that bloodstains were found. "Someone hit him in bathroom. There were blood spots," she said, coming to the conclusion that "It was cold blooded murder declared by authorities as suicide."

Suchir Balaji was an employee at OpenAI for almost four years. He left the company in August, 2023 after they shifted to a for-profit model. This shift was an important factor in him turning whistleblower after he quit. He had given an interview to the New York Times about his concerns regarding the company as well.

The San Francisco Police Department has reportedly reopened the case as an "active investigation," but it has not shared further details. Meanwhile, Suchir Balaji's parents have said, "We demand the FBI step in to uncover the truth."

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