xAI, Elon Musk’s company, has filed a lawsuit in California, accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets and poaching key employees.
This is reported by Finway
Conflict between xAI and OpenAI escalates
In the filed complaint, xAI claims that OpenAI is engaging in a “targeted hiring scheme” of its employees to gain access to proprietary developments and source code related to the creation of the Grok chatbot. Musk’s company believes that this is OpenAI’s attempt to gain a competitive advantage for launching its own data centers and technological solutions in the field of artificial intelligence.
According to the lawsuit, OpenAI is actively recruiting specialists who possess deep knowledge of xAI’s internal business processes, particularly methods for optimizing data center infrastructure. The transfer of such information, which is protected by non-disclosure agreements, is considered a violation of trade secrets.
Elon Musk’s company xAI has filed a lawsuit in federal court in California against OpenAI, accusing it of unlawfully obtaining trade secrets. The AI giant is allegedly using a “targeted hiring scheme” of former xAI employees to access confidential information related to the development of the Grok chatbot.
Allegations against former employees and Apple
During the investigation of another case, xAI discovered that former engineer Xuechen Li may have transferred materials to OpenAI. Li, along with two other former xAI employees — engineer Jimmy Freytur and an unnamed top executive from the finance division — joined a competitor’s team. At the time of this report, Li had not commented on the allegations.
In addition to its claims against OpenAI, xAI has also filed a complaint against Apple, stating that the company conspired with OpenAI to limit competition in the artificial intelligence market. Apple has refrained from commenting on this statement.
This lawsuit is part of a broader conflict between Elon Musk, OpenAI, and other players in Silicon Valley. Previously, Musk had sued OpenAI, accusing it of straying from the organization’s original mission and commercializing its activities. In response, OpenAI filed a counterclaim, accusing Musk of misconduct and harassment.
It is worth noting that the Xai project team has also filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and his company.