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xAI Sues OpenAI Over Alleged Theft of Grok Trade Secrets

OpenAI denies the accusations, setting up an early-stage court fight over the boundaries of trade secrets in modern AI.

Overview

  • xAI’s federal complaint in the Northern District of California alleges a coordinated campaign to recruit insiders and obtain Grok source code, training techniques, and data‑center deployment know‑how.
  • The filing names former xAI engineer Xuechen Li, early engineer Jimmy Fraiture, and a senior finance executive, alleging inducement to breach confidentiality obligations.
  • xAI cites encrypted messages with a recruiter, uploads of code to personal cloud accounts, and AirDrop transfers as evidence of misappropriation.
  • The suit seeks injunctions, damages, and court orders requiring OpenAI to return or destroy any xAI materials and to bar their use.
  • OpenAI calls the lawsuit harassment and denies seeking rivals’ secrets, as a prior order already limited Li’s AI‑related work with OpenAI and the new case heads toward discovery.