Tech tycoon Elon Musk alleges Apple is preferring OpenAI, sparking potential lawsuits contemplation
In a recent turn of events, tech mogul Elon Musk has accused Apple of favouring OpenAI, the AI company behind the popular AI assistant ChatGPT, on the App Store. However, Apple has vehemently denied these claims, stating that their app rankings are based on "objective criteria" such as charts, algorithmic recommendations, and expert curation.
Musk's accusations stem from his belief that Apple makes it "impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1" on the App Store. He labelled this as an "unequivocal antitrust violation." Apple, on the other hand, points to the success of other AI apps, such as Perplexity and DeepSeek, which have reached the top of the charts, suggesting no bias towards OpenAI.
This dispute arose after Apple and OpenAI formed a partnership to integrate OpenAI’s technology into Apple products. Apple denies that this partnership translates to unfair App Store favouritism.
The controversy deepened when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded by questioning Musk’s own competitive practices in relation to his social app X.
At present, there is no publicly available evidence supporting Musk's allegation. The claims remain unproven and are officially refuted by Apple, with no independent verification of App Store bias towards OpenAI available to date.
Meanwhile, Epic Games and other developers have claimed that Apple and Google have a duopoly on the mobile app market. In a significant development, an American court ruled in late 2021 that Apple could no longer force app developers to use the App Store and its payment system.
In a separate development, Musk's company xAI plans to take legal action against Apple. Altman has suggested that Musk manipulates X for his own benefit and to harm his competitors.
As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen how these allegations will impact the tech industry and the relationships between these key players. Apple did not respond to a request for comment from AFP.
References:
- BBC News
- The Verge
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