Particle.news
Download on the App Store
6 ARTICLES
·
10h ago

xAI Sues Former Engineer, Alleging He Took Grok Trade Secrets to OpenAI

xAI seeks damages with a restraining order following what it calls an August 14 admission.

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
Image
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
Image

Overview

  • The complaint filed Thursday in California federal court accuses Xuechen Li of copying Grok-related files on July 25 to personal systems after selling about $7 million of xAI stock.
  • Li resigned a few days later for a role at OpenAI, and xAI says he acknowledged the misappropriation during an August 14 meeting before later forensics found more material on his devices.
  • xAI asks for unspecified monetary damages and a temporary restraining order to block Li’s move, with filings citing a planned August 19 start date at OpenAI.
  • The suit details steps it says Li took to hide the transfers, including deleting browser history, clearing system logs, and compressing and renaming files.
  • OpenAI is not named as a defendant and did not immediately comment, and the case expands a broader legal fight that also features a Texas antitrust action against OpenAI and Apple.