Representatives for Li, Openai, Lawyers and Representatives, and XAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday [File]
| Photo credit: Reuters
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup XAI has filed a lawsuit against a former engineer at the company for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to its Grok chatbot and passing them on to rival Openai.
Musk’s company filed a complaint in California federal court on Thursday alleging that Xuechen Li stole confidential information related to “cutting-edge AI technologies with features superior to those offered by Chatgpt” to bring his new work to Openai earlier this month.
Representatives for Li, Openai, Attorneys and Representatives, and XAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. Openai is not a defendant. The complaint highlights the rivalry between Musk’s company and Openai and the fierce battle between tech companies for AI talent.
Openai co-founder Musk has separately sued the company and its CEO Sam Altman for allegedly straying from its original mission to benefit humanity. Openai sued Musk in April for harassment. Musk’s Xai filed another lawsuit in Texas on Monday against Openai and Apple for allegedly monopolizing the market for AI chatbots on Apple devices.
The new lawsuit said Li started working as an engineer at XAI last year, where he helped train and develop Grok. The company said Li took its trade secrets in July, shortly after taking a job at Openai and selling $7 million in XAI stock.
Musk’s startup said the secrets could allow OpenAI to support Chatgpt with XAI’s “more innovative AI and imagination features.”
Li said Li admitted to stealing the company’s files and “covering his tracks” on August 14, and that the company later found additional stolen material about his devices that he had not disclosed.
Musk’s AI company asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages and a restraining order blocking Li from moving to Openai.
Published – August 30, 2025 at 10:11 AM
