Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI has filed a new lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the theft of trade secrets. This step follows shortly after xAI sued former employee Xuechen Li. It is claimed that Li copied confidential information before leaving and then started working at OpenAI.
In documents shared by Sherwood, it is emphasized that xAI’s lawyers do not see this act as merely an individual violation but as part of a broader and more concerning strategy by OpenAI. According to the documents, allegations of unfair competition and deliberate interference by OpenAI are also included. Additionally, xAI claims that OpenAI has hired not only Li but two other former employees. It is alleged that former engineer Jimmy Fraiture transferred xAI’s source codes to his personal devices and shared them with OpenAI. Moreover, it is also claimed that a senior financial executive took xAI’s data center plans to OpenAI.
Response from OpenAI: Harassment Continues. In the statement, Musk’s action was described as ‘ongoing harassment’ and it was emphasized that a zero-tolerance policy towards privacy breaches is in place. OpenAI stated that they are not concerned with the trade secrets of other laboratories. This is not Musk and OpenAI’s first conflict. Last month, xAI also sued OpenAI and Apple due to Grok’s ranking in the App Store. Musk described the high ranking of ChatGPT as ‘a clear violation of competition.’ Previously, he had also filed numerous lawsuits citing OpenAI’s close cooperation with Microsoft and its transformation into a profit-oriented structure.
