Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has filed a lawsuit in Texas against OpenAI and Apple, alleging the companies engaged in anticompetitive conduct and formed “a conspiracy to monopolize the markets for smartphones and generative AI chatbots.” According to the Guardian, the complaint seeks to unwind a key Apple–OpenAI partnership and recover billions in damages.
The lawsuit and alleged conspiracy
The suit challenges an agreement announced last year in which Apple integrated OpenAI’s artificial intelligence capabilities into its operating systems. The complaint asserts that the companies entered an unlawful agreement to leverage Apple’s monopoly power in the US smartphone market to maintain OpenAI’s monopoly power in generative AI chatbots, and that the arrangement “locked up markets.”
The filing follows Musk’s earlier threat to sue Apple and OpenAI after claiming Apple was “making it impossible” for other AI companies to reach the top spot on its app store. xAI’s Grok chatbot has struggled to achieve the prominence of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the Guardian reported. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Responses from OpenAI and ongoing tensions
OpenAI rejected Musk’s allegations and characterized the filing as part of his broader attacks against the company. “This latest filing is consistent with Mr Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” an OpenAI spokesperson said, as cited by the Guardian. The legal action adds to a long-running feud between Musk and OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman. The two co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but fell out publicly in subsequent years.
Context: Musk–Altman rift and market backdrop
Musk left OpenAI after proposing to take over the company in 2018 and has since filed multiple lawsuits over its move toward a for-profit structure, while Altman and OpenAI have rejected his criticisms. The dispute resurfaced earlier this month following Musk’s threats to sue Apple, prompting an exchange of posts between Musk and Altman. In response to Musk’s claims that Apple favored OpenAI, Altman posted that it was “a remarkable claim” given what he said he had heard alleged about Musk’s actions regarding X.
The Guardian also noted that OpenAI is currently eyeing a $500bn valuation, which would make it the most valuable privately held company, surpassing Musk’s SpaceX at $350bn.
