Key facts
- X Corp and SpaceXAI resolved their antitrust lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI.
- The lawsuit alleged Apple and OpenAI conspired to monopolize smartphone and generative AI chatbot markets.
- A federal judge denied Apple and OpenAI's motions to dismiss the case.
- The lawsuit claimed Apple made ChatGPT the default AI assistant on iPhones, limiting visibility for competitors like Grok.
- Apple stated that other chatbots are accessible on iPhones and that choosing one partner first is not unlawful.
- OpenAI characterized the lawsuit as harassment and vowed to fight it.
Elon Musk's X Corp and SpaceXAI have resolved an antitrust lawsuit filed against Apple and OpenAI. The lawsuit, lodged in federal court in Texas, alleged that Apple conspired to monopolize markets for smartphones and generative AI chatbots. A federal judge had previously denied Apple and OpenAI's requests to dismiss the claims, allowing the case to proceed to deeper scrutiny.
The core of the lawsuit, filed in August following Apple's June 2024 announcement, centered on the integration of ChatGPT as the primary AI assistant within Apple Intelligence across iPhones and other devices. X Corp and xAI contended that this partnership granted ChatGPT immediate access to millions of iPhones and limited opportunities for competitors, such as xAI's Grok, to gain similar visibility on the iOS platform. The complaint specifically accused Apple of establishing ChatGPT as the sole AI assistant, highlighting it in the App Store's 'Must Have Apps' list, and excluding rivals despite their high rankings.
Apple disputed the allegations, arguing that choosing one partner first is not unlawful and that competition is not blocked because other chatbots remain accessible through apps and browsers. OpenAI, in response, characterized the lawsuit as harassment and stated its intention to defend its position in court.
Legal experts suggested that the case could influence how antitrust law addresses default AI integrations on dominant devices. The central question revolves around whether making a single AI assistant the default on a major platform like the iPhone constitutes illegal exclusion of rivals.