Apple Inc. (AAPL.O) and OpenAI have asked a U.S. federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, which alleges that Apple’s integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its devices harms competition in the AI market, Reuters reported.
The case, filed in August, claims that Apple and OpenAI “locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing.” xAI, which owns the Grok chatbot and Musk’s X app, is seeking billions in damages. The suit asserts that Apple’s deal with OpenAI is “exclusive,” giving ChatGPT preferential treatment in Apple’s App Store and unfairly limiting visibility for competing AI products.
Apple’s legal team countered that the partnership with OpenAI is “expressly not exclusive” and emphasized that the company intends to collaborate with other generative AI chatbots. The lawyers argued that xAI had not demonstrated any concrete harm resulting from the integration of ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
“Apple and OpenAI’s agreement does not restrict Apple from working with other AI providers,” the company said in court filings, adding that the partnership is public and widely known.
OpenAI also filed a separate motion to dismiss the case, accusing Musk of engaging in a “campaign of lawfare” aimed at targeting OpenAI and its ChatGPT product. The company highlighted that xAI had not alleged any “non-speculative harm” that would qualify as unlawful or anticompetitive under U.S. antitrust law.
This lawsuit is part of a broader legal conflict between Musk and OpenAI. Musk is also suing OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in California federal court to block the organization’s transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity. Musk and Altman originally co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit in 2015.
xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Apple and OpenAI’s motions to dismiss the suit.
