SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 8 — Ann Altman, the sister of OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman, is suing him over allegations that he repeatedly abused her sexually for nearly a decade from 1996.

According to BBC, she filed the lawsuit on Jan 6 in the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging the sexual abuse began when she was three and her older brother, 12.

Altman has denied the claims, saying in a joint statement with his family that they were from a long line of other allegations against them.

"Over the years, she has accused members of our family of improperly withholding our father’s 401(k) funds, hacking her Wi-Fi, and ‘shadowbanning’ her from various websites including ChatGPT, Twitter, and more.

"The worst allegation she has made is that she was sexually abused by Sam as a child (she has also claimed instances of sexual abuse from others),” the Altman family statement said.

Altman insisted the latest allegations were "entirely untrue”, and went on to suggest a financial motive for the lawsuit.

According to the BBC, Ann is seeking US$75,000 (RM337,000) in damages in her lawsuit.

She has made the claims before, primarily on her social media accounts.

Altman is a leading figure in artificial intelligence, known for spearheading the launch of ChatGPT in 2022.