
FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk’s xAI has sued rival OpenAI in California federal court docket for allegedly stealing its trade secrets to achieve an unfair benefit.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Elon Musk’s synthetic intelligence startup xAI has sued rival OpenAI in California federal court docket for allegedly stealing its trade secrets to achieve an unfair benefit within the race to develop AI know-how.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday mentioned that OpenAI was engaged in a “deeply troubling pattern” of hiring away former xAI staff to achieve entry to trade secrets associated to its AI chatbot Grok.
“OpenAI is targeting those individuals with knowledge of xAI’s key technologies and business plans—including xAI’s source code and its operational advantages in launching data centers—then inducing those employees to breach their confidentiality and other obligations to xAI through unlawful means,” the lawsuit mentioned.
An OpenAI spokesperson denied the allegations in an announcement on Thursday and known as the lawsuit “the latest chapter in Mr. Musk’s ongoing harassment” in opposition to the corporate.
xAI mentioned it found the alleged marketing campaign to undermine the corporate after bringing allegations of trade secret theft in opposition to former engineer Xuechen Li, who it has accused of taking confidential info to the ChatGPT maker in a separate lawsuit.
Li has not but responded to the allegations. xAI has individually sued Apple in federal court docket for allegedly conspiring with OpenAI to suppress rival platforms.
Apple has not but responded to the lawsuit.
Musk can be suing OpenAI over its conversion to a for-profit firm, whereas OpenAI has countersued Musk for harassment.
xAI’s new lawsuit is an element of a broader authorized battle between Musk and OpenAI, which he co-founded, and underscores a high-stakes race in Silicon Valley to rent AI-related expertise and achieve market share within the burgeoning trade.
According to the criticism, OpenAI employed away former firm engineer Jimmy Fraiture and an unnamed senior finance govt along with Li with the intention to acquire xAI trade secrets. Fraiture, who shouldn’t be a defendant within the criticism, couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
Published – September 26, 2025 10:21 am IST