Elon Musk has been accusing OpenAI and Apple of engaging in some sort of corporate conspiracy to inhibit smaller AI companies (you know, like his own) from flourishing. Now, his company, xAI, is suing both firms, accusing them of having used “anticompetitive” practices to quash their competitors (again, you know, like Musk).
The lawsuit, which was filed in Texas on Monday, argues that the two companies have colluded to make ChatGPT the “only generative AI chatbot that benefits from billions of user prompts originating from hundreds of millions of iPhones.” The suit makes the case that Apple and OpenAI are “monopolists” that, in an effort to maintain an edge on their competitors, have manipulated the Apple App Store rankings to keep ChatGPT at the top of the charts. The lawsuit was preceded by public complaints from Musk about how Apple was holding back his own chatbot, Grok, from succeeding. Those complaints came after the latest version of Grok was released, with less-than-stellar download results.
The New York Times writes:
At first, Mr. Musk posted about how well the chatbot was doing in the App Store rankings. But when it didn’t rise to the No. 1 spot, Mr. Musk said on X that Apple had committed “an unequivocal antitrust violation” and added that Apple was “behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any A.I. company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store.”
xAI’s lawsuit largely repeats these claims: “Apple and OpenAI’s exclusive arrangement has made ChatGPT the only generative AI chatbot integrated into the iPhone,” the suit says. “This means that if iPhone users want to use a generative AI chatbot for key tasks on their devices, they have no choice but to use ChatGPT, even if they would prefer to use more innovative and imaginative products like xAI’s Grok.”
The litigation seeks a jury trial and the recovery of “billions in damages.” Gizmodo reached out to Apple, OpenAI, and xAI for comment. In a statement shared with Gizmodo, an OpenAI spokesperson said: “This latest filing is consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment.”
Ongoing is right. Elon’s grudge against Altman might aptly be compared to the eternal flame. He first sued OpenAI last year, accusing the company of betraying its mission to humanity. A few months later, the lawsuit was withdrawn. Musk then sued the company again two months later, accusing it of a breach of contract, and claiming it had “deceived” him. The expanded litigation included OpenAI’s business partner, Microsoft. OpenAI subsequently countersued. Shifting tactics, Musk then attempted to buy OpenAI from Altman earlier this year in an unsolicited bid worth $97.5 billion. Altman turned Musk down with a snide tweet. “No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want,” he wrote on Musk’s own platform (Altman’s “offer” was notably $34 billion less than Musk paid for it). Elon responded by calling Altman a “Swindler.”
During much of this time, Musk and Altman have added to tensions by bickering online. A couple of weeks ago, the two execs got into it on X, wherein Musk claimed that OpenAI wasn’t playing fair. “They are making it impossible for any other AI company to succeed by relentlessly promoting OpenAI in every way possible!” Musk whined. Altman replied: “This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like.”
Can all of this be traced back to the fact that Musk was once a co-founder and board member of OpenAI but now, having parted ways with the firm, must be forced to watch it flourish, while his own AI company is frequently the butt of jokes? There’s simply no way to tell. Why these guys do anything is a total mystery, but it certainly seems like there’s some hurt feelings at stake (not to mention billions of dollars).
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