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OpenAI Seeks Dismissal of xAI’s Trade-Secret Lawsuit, Calls It Part of Musk’s “Ongoing Harassment”

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OpenAI has asked a U.S. federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s startup xAI, which accuses the company of poaching employees to steal trade secrets. In a filing submitted Thursday, OpenAI described the case as part of Musk’s “ongoing harassment” campaign against the company he once co-founded.

The San Francisco lawsuit, filed by xAI last week, claims OpenAI engaged in a “deeply troubling pattern” of recruiting former xAI staff to gain access to proprietary information about its AI chatbot Grok, which it alleges is more advanced than ChatGPT.

OpenAI denied all allegations, calling them “false and unsubstantiated.” The company argued that employees are free to change jobs and that OpenAI has the right to hire talent from any competitor. “Under Musk’s leadership, talented xAI employees are leaving in droves, and some are coming to OpenAI to help advance OpenAI’s mission,” the filing stated. “Those employees have every right to go where they choose.”

OpenAI’s filing further accused Musk of using litigation as a distraction from xAI’s internal struggles, saying the startup is “hemorrhaging talent” to other firms. “This case is an attempt to intimidate OpenAI and distract from the failures of [Musk’s] own competitive AI effort,” the company argued.

Neither Musk’s representatives nor xAI’s attorneys immediately responded to requests for comment.

The dispute adds to a growing web of legal battles between Musk and OpenAI. Musk has already sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman over the company’s shift from a non-profit to a for-profit structure, while OpenAI has countersued Musk for harassment. Separately, xAI has sued Apple, alleging it conspired with OpenAI to suppress rival AI platforms—claims that both companies have denied and sought to have dismissed.

The escalating conflict underscores the intensifying rivalry within Silicon Valley’s AI race, where talent mobility, corporate secrecy, and massive investments have become flashpoints in the battle to dominate next-generation artificial intelligence.

Samsung and SK Hynix to Supply Chips for OpenAI’s $500 Billion Stargate Project

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Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, South Korea’s top semiconductor manufacturers, have signed letters of intent to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s massive Stargate project, marking a major step in Seoul’s growing role in global artificial intelligence infrastructure.

As part of the deal, OpenAI will collaborate with both companies to build two new AI data centers in South Korea, branded as “Korean-style Stargate,” aligning with President Lee Jae Myung’s goal of turning the country into an AI innovation hub in Asia. The decision leverages South Korea’s strong industrial base and its status as the world’s second-largest ChatGPT subscription market after the United States.

The agreements were announced on Wednesday following a high-profile meeting in Seoul between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, President Lee Jae Myung, and the chairmen of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

The Stargate project, unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump in January, aims to invest $500 billion into developing next-generation AI infrastructure with global partners such as SoftBank, Oracle, and now the South Korean chip giants. The initiative seeks to secure the computing capacity needed to sustain AI’s rapid growth and maintain U.S. leadership in the field.

South Korea’s presidential adviser Kim Yong-beom revealed that OpenAI plans to order 900,000 semiconductor wafers by 2029 and establish joint ventures with Samsung and SK Hynix to operate two 20-megawatt-capacity data centers domestically.

“The significant part of the Stargate project would be impossible without memory chips from the two companies,” said Kim.

He added that South Korea may also participate in financing the project.

Altman, in his remarks, emphasized the strategic importance of Korea:

“Korea has an industrial base like nowhere else in the world that is critical for the development of AI. We’re very excited to build Stargate Korea with Samsung and Hynix to support the sovereign AI needs of the country.”

Together, Samsung and SK Hynix control about 70% of the global DRAM market and nearly 80% of the HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) market. HBM technology, introduced in 2013, stacks chips vertically to save space, boost performance, and reduce power consumption, making it vital for AI data processing.

Analysts estimate that 900,000 wafers of advanced DRAM could be worth more than 100 trillion won ($70 billion), though prices may fluctuate depending on market conditions.

In addition to the memory supply deals:

  • Samsung SDS, an IT services affiliate, signed a partnership with OpenAI to develop and operate AI data centers under the Stargate framework.

  • Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung C&T will collaborate on floating offshore data centers, designed to reduce cooling costs and carbon emissions.

Meanwhile, Google has also been in talks with several South Korean companies to explore potential AI collaborations. In June, SK Group announced a 7 trillion won investment, including $4 billion from Amazon Web Services, to build another major data center in the country.

Despite optimism about AI’s transformative potential, some investors remain cautious, citing the risk of a tech infrastructure bubble as companies rush to build large-scale data facilities.

The Stargate project, delayed earlier by prolonged negotiations and site selection, is now poised to gain new momentum through this South Korea partnership, reinforcing the nation’s position at the heart of the global AI supply chain.

Apple and OpenAI Seek Dismissal of Elon Musk’s Antitrust Lawsuit

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Apple and OpenAI have jointly asked a U.S. judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s xAI, which accuses the two companies of engaging in anticompetitive behavior through their AI partnership.

The lawsuit, filed in August, alleges that Apple’s deal with OpenAI — which integrates ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs — is “exclusive” and unfairly limits competition by sidelining Musk’s X platform and its Grok chatbot.

APPLE AND OPENAI REJECT CLAIMS OF MONOPOLY

In court filings on Tuesday, Apple’s lawyers stated that the company’s deal with OpenAI is not exclusive and does not restrict competition in any way.

“Apple and OpenAI’s agreement is expressly not exclusive, and it is public and widely known that Apple intends to partner with other generative AI chatbots,” Apple’s filing said.

OpenAI echoed this argument, accusing Musk of engaging in a “campaign of lawfare” — using lawsuits to attack competitors — and said xAI had failed to demonstrate any concrete harm.

“Musk’s claims are purely speculative,” OpenAI’s attorneys wrote. “xAI has not alleged any direct or anticompetitive harm resulting from ChatGPT’s integration as an option on certain iPhones.”

BACKGROUND OF THE DISPUTE

Apple and OpenAI’s collaboration, announced in June 2024, made ChatGPT accessible across Apple’s ecosystem, allowing users to access the chatbot through Siri and other built-in applications.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit before it transitioned into a for-profit structure under CEO Sam Altman, has since become one of its harshest critics. He argues that OpenAI has abandoned its original mission of open and safe AI development.

Musk’s company xAI, launched in 2023, operates the Grok chatbot integrated into his social media platform X (formerly Twitter). xAI’s lawsuit seeks billions in damages, claiming Apple’s partnership with OpenAI harms fair market competition.

Musk is also pursuing a separate lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman in California federal court, seeking to reverse the company’s for-profit conversion.

xAI has not yet responded publicly to Apple and OpenAI’s latest motion for dismissal.