In a shocking move, Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that the AI company has engaged in trade secret theft and breach of contract. The iPhone maker claims that OpenAI’s senior leadership, including Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan, have directed the misconduct.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses Tan of coaching departing Apple employees on how to evade security procedures and asking for details about unannounced products. Before joining OpenAI, Tan spent 24 years at Apple, most recently as VP of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch.
The accusations come at a time when OpenAI is rumored to be developing its first hardware product, which would likely compete with the iPhone. In April, industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested this device could be a smartphone that relies on AI agents instead of apps. If true, it would be one of the largest threats to Apple’s core hardware business to date.
Apple’s former lead designer Jony Ive’s device startup io was acquired by OpenAI last year in a $6.5 billion deal to aid the AI company with its hardware ambitions. While io is mentioned in the filing, Ive himself is not implicated.
The lawsuit also accuses Chang Liu, who spent eight years at Apple as a senior systems electrical engineer, of failing to return an Apple-issued laptop after leaving for OpenAI and using it to download confidential technical documents. The stolen documents included information about unannounced technologies, features, and products, including technical specifications, engineering presentations, and proprietary project data.
Apple says in the complaint that Liu shared Apple’s confidential information with other employees applying for jobs at OpenAI and advised at least one of them on what to study before their interview. The company claims that this behavior is part of OpenAI’s strategy to extract its confidential information.
The filing references a proprietary metal finishing technique that OpenAI used after allegedly misleading a partner into believing it had Apple’s permission to do so. Apple is asking the court to bar OpenAI from using or disclosing its trade secrets, require the company to return any confidential materials, and preserve evidence related to the case.
In a prepared statement, Apple said: “At Apple, our teams are constantly developing breakthrough technologies to create the best products and services in the world, and protecting their work and intellectual property is something we take very seriously. Recently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Apple’s secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products. We will always defend our teams’ hard work and innovations, and we are taking all appropriate steps to do so.”
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