Apple alleges OpenAI orchestrated a coordinated scheme to steal trade secrets via former employees, including hardware chief Tang Tan. The lawsuit threatens OpenAI's hardware ambitions and IPO plans.
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Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on Friday, accusing the AI company of orchestrating a scheme to steal trade secrets through former employees. The complaint, filed in a California court, alleges that OpenAI used Apple's confidential information to accelerate its push into consumer hardware.
The lawsuit centers on former Apple engineer Chang Liu, who left for OpenAI in January. Apple says Liu failed to return a company laptop and later discovered he could still access Apple's internal systems because of an authentication bug. Rather than reporting the issue, Apple alleges Liu downloaded dozens of confidential engineering files while working at OpenAI, including documents related to unreleased products, technical specifications, and manufacturing processes.
Apple also accuses Liu of encouraging another Apple engineer interviewing at OpenAI to study confidential materials ahead of her interviews. The two moved conversations to a private messaging app to avoid detection, the complaint says.
The allegations extend beyond Liu. Apple claims OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan, a former Apple vice president who spent 24 years at the company, asked job candidates to bring physical components for "show and tell" sessions during interviews. OpenAI employees would also ask candidates for prototypes and information about vendors, the lawsuit alleges. One then-Apple employee screenshotted and downloaded files from a "highly confidential Apple project," and Tan later asked about that project during the interview, according to the complaint.
"OpenAI's recruiting practices suggest it hires these individuals at least in part because of the confidential Apple-specific knowledge and expertise they have and could improperly obtain," the complaint reads.
Apple says it raised its concerns with OpenAI earlier this year and asked the company to investigate whether its confidential information had entered OpenAI's business. According to the complaint, OpenAI never responded, prompting Apple to continue its investigation before filing suit on Friday.
"This is the tip of the iceberg," the complaint reads. "Apple lacks visibility into what's been happening behind closed doors at OpenAI, where such misconduct is normalized and exemplified by leadership."
The lawsuit seeks damages in an amount to be determined at trial and court orders preventing OpenAI and the individual defendants from possessing or using Apple's trade secrets. OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
For Apple, the case poses a risk to its hardware pipeline and intellectual property. The company has seen several hardware engineers decamp to OpenAI amid the AI startup's hiring spree. OpenAI has filed initial paperwork for an initial public offering, and the lawsuit could complicate those plans if discovery reveals broader misappropriation.
A hearing has not been scheduled. The case adds to a growing list of legal battles between Big Tech and AI startups over talent and trade secrets. Apple shares were little changed in after-hours trading on Friday.
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