Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, recently filed a lawsuit against rival company OpenAI in California federal court. The case accused OpenAI of stealing trade secrets to gain an unfair advantage in the competitive AI industry. xAI claimed that OpenAI targeted former employees who had access to critical company information, including details about xAI’s AI chatbot, Grok.
Now, OpenAI has asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it part of Musk’s “ongoing harassment” of the company, according to Reuters. “Under Musk’s leadership, talented xAI employees are leaving in droves, and some are coming to OpenAI to help advance OpenAI’s mission,” the filing said. “Those employees have every right to go where they choose, and OpenAI has the right to hire them.”
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OpenAI also argued that the lawsuit is an attempt to intimidate the company and shift attention away from xAI’s struggles. “The truth is that xAI is hemorrhaging talent to other competitors, including OpenAI,” OpenAI said.
The dispute is part of a broader legal battle between Musk and OpenAI. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI alongside CEO Sam Altman, has filed other lawsuits against the company, including a challenge over OpenAI’s conversion to a for-profit model. OpenAI, in turn, has countersued Musk for harassment.
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xAI has also separately sued Apple, alleging that the tech giant conspired with OpenAI to limit competition. Both Apple and OpenAI denied the allegations and asked the court to dismiss the case.
As OpenAI defends itself against xAI’s trade secret allegations, the showdown highlights the high stakes and intense rivalries emerging in Silicon Valley’s fast-growing AI market.
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