Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, has filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, alleging that the companies have engaged in an anti-competitive arrangement that gives OpenAI's ChatGPT an unfair advantage over other AI chatbots, including xAI's own Grok.
The lawsuit, filed in a Texas federal court, claims that the deal to embed ChatGPT into Apple's operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, and macOS) has "locked up markets to maintain their monopolies" and makes it nearly impossible for competing chatbots to reach the top of the App Store charts. The complaint seeks billions of dollars in damages and a court order to end the alleged "exclusive arrangement."
According to the lawsuit, Apple's partnership with OpenAI is a desperate move to protect its smartphone monopoly, while OpenAI benefits from inhibiting competition. xAI argues that if not for the exclusive deal, Apple would have no reason not to promote apps like Grok more prominently. The lawsuit echoes a previous threat made by Musk on his social media platform X, where he accused Apple of an "unequivocal antitrust violation" and claimed that the company's behavior makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach the number one spot in the App Store.
This legal action marks the latest development in a long-standing feud between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI but left the company in 2018 due to disagreements over its direction. He has since filed a separate lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman, alleging they breached the company's founding agreement by prioritizing commercial interests over the original goal of developing AI for the benefit of humanity.
Apple and OpenAI have not yet publicly commented on the new lawsuit, but an OpenAI spokesperson has previously stated that Musk's legal actions are part of an "ongoing pattern of harassment." The lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI also draws parallels to a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit against Apple, which similarly accuses the company of monopolizing the smartphone market.