Elon Musk's social network X and startup xAI have accused Apple and OpenAI of forming an illegal alliance to hinder competition in the market for generative artificial intelligence (AI) on smartphones.

In the complaint filed Monday in federal court in Texas, the billionaire alleges that the iPhone maker and ChatGPT's publisher agreed to integrate the AI assistant into Apple smartphones, while blocking rivals like Grok, xAI's AI assistant.

"This is the story of two monopolies joining forces to ensure their continued dominance in a world now powered by the most powerful technology ever created by humanity: artificial intelligence," the complaint states by way of introduction.

X and xAI claim that Apple holds 65% of the smartphone market in the US, while OpenAI reportedly controls at least 80% of the generative AI assistant market thanks to ChatGPT.

Apple and OpenAI announced their partnership in June 2024, integrating the popular AI assistant into some iPhone features, including its voice assistant Siri.

According to the complaint, the deal would give ChatGPT exclusive access to "billions of user queries" from hundreds of millions of devices.

Elon Musk also accused Apple of manipulating App Store rankings to favor the ChatGPT app, while delaying approval of updates to the Grok app.

His companies are seeking multi-billion dollar damages and a permanent injunction to stop the alleged anticompetitive practices. They are also requesting a jury trial.

"This new complaint is consistent with Mr. Musk's pattern of harassment," an OpenAI spokesperson said.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request from AFP.

- "Bitter campaign" -

Elon Musk was part of the eleven-person team that founded OpenAI in 2015, but he left the company in 2018 and has been attacking it on X and in court since the phenomenal success of ChatGPT in late 2022.

He has taken legal action against the Silicon Valley star, who he claims has betrayed his values, but has also offered to buy it out.

OpenAI hit back in April with a lawsuit against the billionaire, accusing him of waging a "relentless campaign" to harm it.

This month, Elon Musk turned his ire on Apple, which he claims favors ChatGPT on the App Store, the mobile app download platform.

"Apple is acting in a way that makes it impossible for any AI company other than OpenAI to reach the top spot on the App Store, which is a clear violation of competition rules," the billionaire said on X.

These accusations sparked a heated argument with Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI.

"This is a remarkable claim given what I've heard about Elon manipulating X for his own benefit and that of his companies and to harm his competitors and people he doesn't like," the executive wrote on X.

Sam Altman "lies like he breathes," added Elon Musk, calling his message "bullshit."

- "Fair" -

Apple, for its part, assured in a statement that the App Store was "fair and free from any bias."

"We highlight thousands of apps through rankings, algorithmic recommendations and editorial selections made by experts according to objective criteria," the Californian group said.

Late in generative AI, Apple launched "Apple Intelligence" in 2024, a series of AI-boosted features, notably thanks to its contract with OpenAI.

Beyond Elon Musk's accusations, the App Store has been heavily criticized by many authorities and companies.

Epic Games, the publisher of the video game Fortnite, and many other developers accuse Google and Apple of having a duopoly on the mobile app market with their iOS and Android mobile operating systems, and of abusing their dominant position by imposing their own download and payment platforms, and by taking large commissions on user spending.

A US court ruled in late 2021 that Apple could no longer force app publishers to use the App Store and its payment system.