Elon Musk has expanded his lawsuit against OpenAI by accusing the company of colluding with Microsoft to monopolize the generative artificial intelligence (AI) market and “actively attempting to eliminate competitors,” including his company xAI.
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Musk has updated his lawsuit against OpenAI to include allegations against Microsoft. According to The Verge, the complaint alleges that OpenAI and Microsoft are seeking to “monopolize the generative AI market” and are pursuing policies aimed at eliminating competitors. The updated document names Microsoft as a new defendant, along with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Microsoft Vice President Dee Templeton, who was previously a member of OpenAI’s board of directors.
Both OpenAI and xAI are competing for funding in the growing AI market. OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in October to build more powerful AI models, and xAI raised $6 billion in its own funding round in March. At the same time, Microsoft, starting in 2019, invested $14 billion in OpenAI and received exclusive rights to commercial use of the startup’s technologies, as well as a 49% stake in its commercial division. Musk’s lawyers claim that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman “abused his position for unbridled selfish gain,” leading to a virtual merger between two large companies and creating anti-competitive conditions in the market.
Image source: theverge.com
Recall that Musk was one of the founders of OpenAI in 2015, but left the company in 2018. Its original lawsuit, filed in March and withdrawn without explanation in June, accused OpenAI of straying from its original stated mission of creating artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. The lawsuit said that “the partnership with Microsoft has turned OpenAI into a virtual closed subsidiary” focused only on maximizing profits. OpenAI has repeatedly tried to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it a “PR stunt” and “an increasingly aggressive campaign to harass OpenAI for its own competitive interests.”
It is worth adding that former OpenAI board member Shivon Zilis, head of Neuralink, owned by Musk, and the mother of three of his twelve children, has also joined the new case as a plaintiff. Journalists turned to OpenAI and Microsoft for comments on the new amendments to the lawsuit.