Musk alleges that Apple favors AI trailblazer, OpenAI, over his own ventures. - Musk alleges that Apple supports AI pioneer OpenAI over alleged conflict of interests with the tech mogul
In a recent development, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has accused Apple of favoring OpenAI in the App Store rankings, claiming this behavior makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach the #1 spot on the App Store. Musk labeled this as an unequivocal antitrust violation and suggested Apple "put their whole body" on the scale to bias the rankings, disadvantaging competitors like his xAI's Grok app.
Musk's complaint emerges amid ongoing tensions between him and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who dismissed Musk's claims as baseless and pointed to Musk's own manipulative behaviors.
Apple, however, has rejected Musk’s accusations, stating that their App Store features thousands of apps and rankings are determined by charts, algorithmic recommendations, and curated lists selected by experts using objective criteria. Apple also pointed out that many AI apps aside from OpenAI’s ChatGPT (which is currently ranked #1) have topped the App Store charts over the last year, including competitors like Perplexity and DeekSeek, indicating no unfair favoritism toward OpenAI.
The impact on ChatGPT and other AI companies' positions in China and India is not clear from the available information. However, the App Store ranking controversy primarily affects app visibility and competition globally, including markets like China and India, where app rankings influence adoption and user reach. If true, Apple’s favoritism of OpenAI could stifle other AI companies’ market penetration in these regions by limiting their exposure.
Elon Musk's company, xAI, has announced it will take immediate legal action. Musk has also accused OpenAI of deviating from the startup's founding principles. It is important to note that OpenAI is a non-profit organization.
The feud between Elon Musk and OpenAI's CEO has been described as fierce, with Musk attacking OpenAI, particularly since the success of ChatGPT late last year. In 2015, Musk was initially involved in the founding of OpenAI, but he has not been involved with the organisation since 2018.
In a related development, both xAI and OpenAI released new versions of their chatbots, Grok and ChatGPT, on Monday. ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, was listed as the top free iPhone app on the App Store on Tuesday, while Grok came in fifth place on the same list. A Chinese company named Deepseek secured the first place in the App Store at the beginning of the year, and Perplexity AI, an AI search engine company, recently advanced to the top rank in India.
Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI was unsuccessful, with his efforts failing in March last year. However, the current allegations against Apple are likely to add another layer to the ongoing saga between Musk and the tech giants. Apple has not yet responded to a request for comment regarding the legal action announced by xAI.
- Elon Musk, in the midst of his ongoing feud with OpenAI's CEO, has recently thrown his support behind xAI's Grok app, claiming that Apple's alleged favoritism towards OpenAI's ChatGPT app in the App Store rankings is an antitrust violation.
- Artificial Intelligence companies like xAI are closely following the controversy surrounding the App Store rankings, as potential bias could impact their market presence not only in tech hubs like Silicon Valley, but also in growing AI markets such as China and India.
