Two Musk-Affiliated Firms Sue Apple, Openai Over Alleged Collusion To Undermine Competition

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (KUNA) -- Two companies affiliated with American billionaire Elon Musk filed a lawsuit on Monday against technology giants Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of collusion and engaging in a scheme to suppress competition in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
The lawsuit, filed by Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI and his social media platform X, claims that Apple and OpenAI conspired to maintain monopolistic control over the smartphone and generative AI markets.
According to the complaint, submitted to the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Apple allegedly marginalized Musk's AI applications including Grok, a suite of integrated services offering messaging, e-commerce, payments, entertainment, and AI-powered chat by lowering their visibility in Apple's App Store rankings, while favoring OpenAI's ChatGPT.
The filing stated that Apple formed an alliance in a desperate attempt to protect its smartphone monopoly with OpenAI, the company that benefits most from stifling innovation and competition in generative AI.
Earlier this month, Musk had threatened legal action against Apple, accusing the company of "blatant violations of antitrust laws." In a post on platform X, he claimed Apple's conduct effectively blocks any AI company other than OpenAI from reaching top positions in its App Store.
According to CNBC, OpenAI declined to comment on the lawsuit, while Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
In response to Musk's allegations, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X, saying, "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 competitors or people he doesn't like."
A spokesperson for Apple previously stated that the App Store is designed to be fair and free of bias and hosts thousands of applications.
Musk launched xAI in 2023 as part of an effort to compete with OpenAI and other leading developers of AI chatbot technology. In contrast, Apple last year announced a partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.
The lawsuit marks the latest development in the ongoing dispute between Musk and Altman, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015. Musk left the company in 2018 due to disagreements over its direction.
Last year, Musk also filed a separate lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman, accusing them of prioritizing commercial gain over the organization's founding mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity. (end)
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