Elon Musk’s xAI goes after OpenAI

The fight is turning nasty

An underappreciated force behind great technological change is intense—and petty—rivalry. In the “war of the currents” in the late 19th century, Thomas Edison electrocuted stray animals to discredit Nikola Tesla. A century later Steve Jobs traded insults with Bill Gates during a battle between Apple and Microsoft. Even “Silicon Valley,” a satirical HBO series, starts with a feud—and the priceless quip: “These are billionaires, Richard. Humiliating each other is worth more to them than we will make in a lifetime.”

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Tycoons in a knife fight ”

From the November 30th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

The world’s top condom-maker is getting squeezed

Will Karex break under pressure?

Franchising has quietly made countless Americans rich

In the age of AI, running a McDonald’s may soon look a lot more appealing

Why you should (almost) always look on the bright side of life

The benefits—and dangers—of optimism

Can an Italian company disrupt Germany’s broken railway industry?

Deutsche Bahn could soon have a rival

A new mega-deal shows how AI has turned utilities into hot property

NextEra and Dominion must now win over regulators

How Star Wars went from space opera to soap opera

Disney turned its flagship film franchise into TV fodder. Can it go back to the big screen?