- Elon Musk's xAI has sued Apple and OpenAI for alleged anti-competitive practices
- The lawsuit claims Apple unfairly promotes OpenAI and deprioritises rival apps like Grok
- Apple is accused of integrating ChatGPT into devices to favour OpenAI over competitors
Elon Musk-owned artificial intelligence startup xAI has sued Apple, as well as ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for alleged anti-competitive practices, reports said on Monday.
The lawsuit alleges an illegal conspiracy to suppress competition in the space of artificial intelligence.
The lawsuit claims that Apple is actively working against competition by unfairly promoting OpenAI's products. Specifically, it alleges that Apple is deprioritising rival apps, including xAI's Grok, in its App Store rankings.
At the same time, Apple is accused of favouring OpenAI by integrating the ChatGPT chatbot directly into its devices, from iPhones to Macs. According to the complaint, filed in a Texas court, this illegal conduct will continue to harm competitors and must be stopped by the court.
The complaint follows up on a previous threat from Elon Musk, who called the partnership an "unequivocal antitrust violation" on X. He claimed that Apple's behavior makes it impossible for any other AI company to achieve the top spot in the App Store.
Both Apple and OpenAI have pushed back on these accusations. An Apple spokesperson stated that the App Store is designed to be fair, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that Musk's claim was hypocritical, given Musk's own alleged manipulation of the X platform to benefit his companies and harm competitors.
