US judge dismisses xAI trade-secrets lawsuit against rival OpenAI for now

A ​federal judge in California on Tuesday ‌dismissed a lawsuit from Elon ​Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI ⁠that accused rival Sam Altman’s OpenAI of stealing its trade secrets.

U.S. District ‌Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco said that xAI could ‌refile its case, but ‌for ⁠now has failed to ⁠allege that OpenAI committed any misconduct. The lawsuit, filed in September, claimed that former xAI employees ​took confidential ‌information with them when they left for new jobs at OpenAI.

“Notably absent are allegations about the ‌conduct of OpenAI itself,” Lin ​said. “xAI does not allege any facts indicating that OpenAI induced ⁠xAI’s former employees to steal xAI’s trade secrets or that these ‌former xAI employees used any stolen trade secrets once employed by OpenAI.”

Lin had signaled in a January opinion that she would likely rule for OpenAI. Spokespeople and ‌attorneys for the companies did not ​immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision. The ⁠lawsuit is part of a broader ⁠legal battle between Musk and OpenAI, which he co-founded and ‌is also suing over its conversion to a for-profit company.