Apple has filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the artificial intelligence company of orchestrating a “pattern of theft” of its confidential product development information to fuel its own hardware ambitions. The lawsuit, lodged on Friday, claims that OpenAI poached Apple employees and coaxed them to hand over trade secrets, including unreleased product designs, proprietary manufacturing techniques, and details about suppliers.
At the centre of the complaint are two former Apple workers who joined OpenAI: Tang Yew Tan, a vice-president of design who spent 24 years at Apple and is now OpenAI’s chief hardware officer, and Chang Liu, a senior electrical engineer who worked at Apple for eight years. Apple alleges that Tan directed job candidates still at Apple to bring “actual parts” from Apple to their interviews for “show and tell” sessions, enabling OpenAI to glean further confidential information. Liu is accused of taking an Apple laptop when he left and using an authentication bug to breach the company’s internal network.
“Apple sues OpenAI, accusing it of stealing trade secrets via former employees to build its own hardware.”
Also named in the suit is io Products, the hardware startup founded by former Apple design guru Jony Ive, which OpenAI acquired last year for $6.4bn. The acquisition signalled OpenAI’s intention to enter the consumer hardware market. Apple argues that “OpenAI’s nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.”
An Apple spokesman said “significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Apple’s secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products.” Drew Pusateri, a spokesman for OpenAI, said the company was reviewing the complaint and added: “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.”
The lawsuit marks a dramatic reversal in relations between the two tech giants. In 2024, Apple and OpenAI announced a major partnership, with Apple integrating ChatGPT into its operating systems. But tensions began to simmer when Apple shifted its latest AI features to run on Google’s Gemini model, and OpenAI’s hardware acquisition further strained ties. The case now threatens to deepen the rift between two of Silicon Valley’s most powerful companies.
