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3d ago

xAI Sues Ex-Engineer Over Alleged Grok Trade‑Secret Theft Linked to OpenAI Job

The case spotlights xAI’s bid for a court order to stop the engineer from joining OpenAI.

A 3D-printed miniature model of Elon Musk and the xAI logo are seen in this illustration created on January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., walks to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) near the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. US President Donald Trump has gravitated toward the reciprocal tariff plan as a key part of his push to raise US levies overall, stating it would apply to nations who generally have a higher average tariff rate than the US, which would raise its own tariff to match them. Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg
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Overview

  • xAI filed the complaint in California federal court accusing former engineer Xuechen Li of taking confidential Grok materials before resigning for a role at OpenAI.
  • OpenAI is not named as a defendant, and Li and OpenAI representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment in initial reports.
  • xAI alleges Li copied files on July 25, the day he sold roughly $7 million in xAI stock, then resigned three days later to take an OpenAI job slated to begin in mid‑August.
  • The filing says Li admitted on August 14 to taking company files and attempting to conceal the transfers, and that xAI later found additional undisclosed material on his devices.
  • xAI seeks unspecified monetary damages and a temporary restraining order barring Li from working at OpenAI, framing the dispute within the industry’s fierce competition for AI talent.