Wachtell, Sullivan & Cromwell, MoFo Get AI Giants’ Deal Work (1)

Three Big Law firms, in securing key advisory roles with OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI, have emerged as frontrunners in the arms race to win lucrative legal business from generative artificial intelligence companies.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Morrison & Foerster represented OpenAI and SoftBank Group Corp., respectively, on a deal announced this week in which SoftBank pledged to invest $40 billion into the company behind ChatGPT. Sullivan & Cromwell, meanwhile, advised Musk, xAI, and X—the social media company formerly known as Twitter—on their $100 billion merger.

Although all three law firms have positioned themselves at the forefront ...