Elon Musk's xAI is now suing OpenAI over stolen trade secrets

Elon Musk's xAI has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming the ChatGPT-maker has stolen trade secrets by hiring two former xAI employees.

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xAI filed a new lawsuit against Xuechen Li, a former xAI employee who sold his stock in the company and departed for a position at xAI rival company, OpenAI. It's unclear whether Li actually began working at OpenAI, but xAI's lawsuit accuses the former employee of stealing trade secrets from xAI to take to OpenAI, specifically secrets related to xAI's AI model, Grok. The lawsuit also states Li, an "early xAI engineer," along with Jimmy Fraiture, a former "senior finance executive" at xAI, were "induced" by OpenAI to steal trade secrets in its desire to win the artificial intelligence race.

xAI claims that OpenAI is threatened by the "innovativeness and creativity of xAI's code," and that Grok currently offers "more innovative and imaginative than those offered by its competitors, including OpenAI." Furthermore, xAI cites Grok's leading scores on industry benchmarks, and that OpenAI simply became the dominator in the AI race by being the "first mover." The lawsuit doesn't stop there, as xAI claims OpenAI is engaging in a "coordinated, unfair, and unlawful campaign" to target xAI employees for recruiting.

An OpenAI spokesperson responded to the lawsuit, stating, "This new lawsuit is the latest chapter in Mr Musk's ongoing harassment. We have no tolerance for any breaches of confidentiality, nor any interest in trade secrets from other labs."