Elon Musk’s xAI has filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing it of orchestrating a campaign to steal proprietary technology and source code through targeted employee poaching. The lawsuit claims OpenAI induced former xAI employees with lucrative offers, leading to allegations of misappropriation of xAI’s entire source code, training methods, and data center strategies. Notably, an engineer purportedly admitted to stealing code in a handwritten confession following encrypted communications with an OpenAI recruiter. The complaint details incidents of source code theft days after engagement with recruiters, including one instance where the entire source code was uploaded to a personal cloud account. Legal experts highlight the challenges of proving unlawful misappropriation, with the outcome depending heavily on evidence regarding the nature of employee recruitment. xAI seeks damages, restitution, and injunctions against OpenAI as Musk’s legal battles with the AI company continue. This lawsuit intensifies Musk’s ongoing conflicts with OpenAI, dating back to his exit from its board in 2018.
Source link
