A lawsuit filed by Elon Musk-owned xAI alleged Apple and OpenAI joined forces to stifle competition across the AI sector and the iPhone maker’s App Store.

The lawsuit in the US state of Texas claims Apple and OpenAI “locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing” by working in tandem.

Earlier in August, Musk threatened legal action against Apple over alleged antitrust violations, accusing the iPhone maker of ranking OpenAI’s ChatGPT over other models in its App Store.

Apple and OpenAI struck an agreement in June 2024 for its devices to include support for ChatGPT through Siri and other first party apps.

“If not for its exclusive deal with OpenAI, Apple would have no reason to refrain from more prominently featuring the X app and the Grok app in its App Store,” according to the lawsuit.

In March, Musk’s xAI acquired his social media platform X in a $45 billion all-stock transaction to bring both businesses under a single umbrella.

The lawsuit, which is seeking to billions of dollars in damages and a jury trial, states “Apple and OpenAI have locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing”.

Musk has a long-standing feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI but left the organisation in 2018 over clashes with Altman and has since heavily criticised the company’s revised business model.

Altman reportedly rejected a $97.4 billion attempt by an Musk-led consortium to take charge of the non-profit group which controls the AI company in February.

Reuters reported Musk is suing OpenAI and Altman in California over the decision to transition the company from a non-profit to a for-profit entity.