Elon Musk targets Microsoft in OpenAI lawsuit: ‘Trying to eliminate competitors’

Elon Musk updated his OpenAI lawsuit, now accusing Microsoft as well of attempting to “monopolize the generative AI market.”

Elon Musk has updated his fraud, breach of contract, and racketeering lawsuit against OpenAI, now making antitrust claims against Microsoft, according to a report by The Verge.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with Altman and Brockman, before leaving the company in 2018. Then Microsoft in 2019, invested $14 billion into OpenAI and now holds exclusive rights to commercially license its technology along with a 49% stake in its for-profit subsidiary. (Reuters)

He is now accusing both the companies of attempting to “monopolize the generative AI market,” the report quoted the amended complaint filed on Thursday as having said.

The complaint names Microsoft along with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Microsoft VP Dee Templeton, who is a former OpenAI board member. This is apart from OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with Altman and Brockman, before leaving the company in 2018. Then Microsoft in 2019, invested $14 billion into OpenAI and now holds exclusive rights to commercially license its technology along with a 49% stake in its for-profit subsidiary.

The lawyers of Elon Musk argue that Altman “engaged in rampant self-dealing” to create a “de facto merger” between the two companies to promote anticompetitive practices and are “actively trying to eliminate competitors” by exchanging “competitively sensitive information.”

This makes its investors refrain from also funding rival companies like xAI, which is owned by Musk.

Currently, both xAI and OpenAI are competing for funding, with OpenAI securing $6.6 billion in October to build more powerful AI models, while xAI raised $6 billion in its own funding round in March.

All of this also comes with Musk having opened a previous lawsuit in March and also dropping without explanation in June. It accused OpenAI of abandoning its founding agreement to develop AI which will benefit humanity.

OpenAI repeatedly tried to dismiss the complaint, describing it as a “PR stunt” and an “increasingly blusterous campaign to harass OpenAI for his own competitive advantage.”