Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has escalated his battle in the artificial intelligence space, with his company xAI filing a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI in a federal court in Texas. The case alleges that the two tech giants are working together to unfairly restrict competition in the AI market.

According to the complaint, Apple’s exclusive collaboration with OpenAI—through which ChatGPT has been integrated into iPhones, iPads, and Mac devices—has effectively sidelined xAI’s products, including the X app and Grok chatbot. The filing claims this partnership has “locked up markets to preserve monopolies,” leaving little room for competitors to thrive.

xAI is seeking billions of dollars in damages. Musk had previously warned Apple of legal action, stating on his social platform X that Apple’s practices make it nearly impossible for any AI developer, apart from OpenAI, to reach the top rankings in the App Store.

OpenAI pushed back on the allegations, calling Musk’s lawsuit “part of an ongoing pattern of harassment.” Apple has not yet commented on the case.

Musk has been ramping up his AI ventures aggressively. His startup xAI, founded less than two years ago, competes with Microsoft-backed OpenAI and China’s DeepSeek. In March, xAI purchased X (formerly Twitter) for $33 billion to strengthen its AI training ecosystem. Grok, xAI’s chatbot, is already integrated into Tesla vehicles.

The latest legal battle is not Musk’s first against OpenAI. He is also suing the company and its CEO, Sam Altman, in California, challenging its transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 before leaving the organization.

Apple’s App Store policies have been scrutinized before, most notably in the high-profile antitrust case brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games, which forced Apple to loosen some of its payment rules. Musk’s lawsuit adds a fresh layer to the mounting debate around competition, monopolistic practices, and the future of AI innovation.