AI competition and app store rankings: X and xAI sue Apple and OpenAI
Elon Musk's X and xAI accuse Apple and OpenAI of monopolistic practices. The lawsuit could define key questions about the AI market for antitrust proceedings.
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The AI start-up xAI and the online platform X filed a lawsuit against the US companies Apple and OpenAI in a US federal court in Texas on Monday. The companies, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, accuse the two competitors of monopolistic practices. They have illegally conspired to hinder competition in artificial intelligence (AI). Apple and OpenAI have "foreclosed markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing," according to the complaint.
In the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth (AZ. 4:25-CV-00914-P), X and xAI accuse Apple's App Store of putting competing chatbots and "super" apps, including Grok and X, at a disadvantage. Apple has partnered with OpenAI to integrate an interface to ChatGPT into its operating systems for iPhones, iPads, and Macs. "Without the exclusive agreement with OpenAI, Apple would have no reason not to present the X app and the Grok app in its App Store," the lawsuit states. Musk's companies claim that iPhone users have no reason to download third-party AI apps because the company forces its users to use ChatGPT as the default chatbot app. Also, the iPhone's ChatGPT integration gives OpenAI access to "potentially billions of user requests originating from hundreds of millions of iPhones", which is an unfair advantage. X and xAI are seeking damages of several billion US dollars.
Lawsuit could define AI market in antitrust proceedings
"This latest lawsuit is consistent with Mr. Musk's ongoing harassment," an OpenAI spokesperson told Reuters in a statement. Earlier this month, Musk had already threatened "immediate legal action" by his AI company, xAI. Back then, he claimed in a post on his platform X that Apple was making it impossible for AI companies other than OpenAI and ChatGPT to reach number 1 in the app store charts. This is a "clear violation of antitrust law".
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According to Reuters, the lawsuit filed by X and xAI could give the courts in the United States the first opportunity to assess whether there is a defined market for AI and what it comprises. This is a threshold question in antitrust disputes.
In addition, Musk is suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman separately in a federal court in California to prevent the company from converting from a non-profit to a for-profit entity. In March, however, the competent court dismissed the corresponding emergency application. According to the court, insufficient grounds had been presented to make an immediate decision. Musk founded OpenAI together with Altman in 2015 as a non-profit company, but withdrew from the company in 2018 following disputes over its direction and, in particular, its management structures. Musk has not yet filed a lawsuit against Apple. In the last public dispute, a personal conversation with Apple CEO Tim Cook smoothed the waters.
(akn)
