Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has sued Apple and OpenAI, alleging that the two tech behemoths are stifling competition in the rapidly expanding AI market through anticompetitive conduct.
Apple’s recent cooperation talks with OpenAI, according to the complaint filed late Monday in a California federal court, grant the ChatGPT creator exclusive access to Apple’s ecosystem, thereby excluding competitors like xAI.
According to the fresh lawsuit filed by Elon Musk, the setup resembles a “walled garden” strategy that strengthens OpenAI’s hegemony while limiting customer options.
“In a desperate bid to protect its smartphone monopoly, Apple has joined forces with the company that most benefits from inhibiting competition and innovation in AI: OpenAI, a monopolist in the market for generative AI chatbots,” the lawsuit reads, referring to Apple’s partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its systems.
This lawsuit is one of many disagreements between Altman and Musk, who have been publicly insulting each other for a long time. In a previous lawsuit, Musk attempted to stop OpenAI from becoming a for-profit business.
One of OpenAI’s harshest detractors is Musk, who co-founded the company in 2015 before severing his connections with it. He has consistently maintained that OpenAI has deviated from its initial non-profit goal and founded xAI in 2023 to develop what he refers to as “truth-seeking AI.”
