xAI, Elon Musk's AI venture, has initiated legal action against a former engineer, Xuechen Li, for allegedly misappropriating trade secrets related to its Grok chatbot. The lawsuit, filed in a California federal court, claims Li transferred confidential information to his personal system shortly before resigning and accepting a position at OpenAI.
The complaint alleges that Li, after accepting a role at OpenAI, illicitly acquired proprietary data concerning AI technologies surpassing ChatGPT's capabilities. xAI's investigation purportedly revealed that Li admitted to taking company files and attempting to conceal his actions. The company further claims that he sold $7 million in xAI stock before joining OpenAI.
This legal battle underscores the intense competition for AI talent and the ongoing rivalry between Musk's ventures and OpenAI. xAI accuses OpenAI and Apple of anti-competitive practices. Musk has also publicly criticised OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
