The Talent Battle Behind Musk’s Feud With OpenAI

Elon Musk seems to enjoy getting into verbal fisticuffs with other CEOs (as Bob Iger of Disney can attest). But his attacks on OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in a lawsuit last week may have a strategic purpose. In artificial intelligence, talent has long been a priceless commodity. And it’s a good bet Musk’s OpenAI battle has something to do with his effort to recruit or retain key employees for his own AI startup, X.ai. 

After all, there are so few people with expertise in developing cutting-edge, large-scale AI models that the total number would barely fit on the bleachers of a typical high school gym. They command millions of dollars per year in compensation, especially these days. Recruiting battles between OpenAI, Google, Meta Platforms, Apple and other firms are fierce and expensive, as my colleague Jon Victor has shown. Musk has joined those battles, thanks to X.ai.