Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, has initiated a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, in a U.S. federal court in Texas. The lawsuit alleges an unlawful conspiracy aimed at stifling competition within the AI industry.
The lawsuit claims that Apple and OpenAI have effectively "locked up markets" to preserve their monopolies and hinder innovators like X and xAI from entering the fray. Apple, in collaboration with OpenAI, has incorporated ChatGPT into its devices, such as iPhones, iPads, and Macs. xAI argues that without this exclusive arrangement, Apple would lack justification for restricting the visibility of both the X app and xAI’s Grok app in its App Store.
The company is pursuing billions of dollars in claimed damages. Musk emphasized these allegations on his social media platform X, asserting, "A million reviews with a 4.9 average for @Grok and yet Apple refuses to acknowledge Grok on any lists." Previously, Musk had threatened legal action against Apple, contending that its App Store policies make it impossible for any AI company other than OpenAI to achieve the top spot in the App Store.
OpenAI characterized the lawsuit as part of "Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment," while Apple has not yet provided a comment.
xAI, which was launched less than two years ago, is in competition with Microsoft-backed OpenAI and the Chinese startup DeepSeek. The company acquired X in March for $33 billion to bolster its chatbot training capabilities and has integrated its Grok chatbot into Tesla vehicles.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT quickly became the fastest-growing consumer application in history following its launch in late 2022. Musk co-founded OpenAI alongside Sam Altman in 2015 as a nonprofit organization, and he is currently pursuing a separate lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman in federal court in California regarding its transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity.
Apple's App Store policies have come under fire in various lawsuits, including a current case brought by Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, where a judge has mandated that Apple permit increased competition for app payment methods. The most recent xAI lawsuit signifies the tech mogul's escalating resistance to what he perceives as anti-competitive practices within the AI industry.