Legal Battle: Apple Accuses OpenAI of Theft in Hardware Secrets Case

Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming that engineers from the AI startup stole Apple’s secrets to further their own hardware plans. The complaint states that Apple uncovered a “pattern of theft of Apple’s trade secrets by OpenAI employees who were formerly at Apple.” The lawsuit also names IO Products, Jony Ive’s hardware startup that OpenAI acquired in 2025, along with two specific employees, Tang Tan (OpenAI’s chief hardware officer) and Chang Liu.

An Apple spokesperson provided a statement to 9to5Mac, emphasizing the company’s commitment to protecting its intellectual property. The statement highlights the emergence of evidence suggesting that individuals at OpenAI wrongfully obtained Apple’s confidential information related to unreleased technologies, processes, and products.

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.

Drew Pusateri from OpenAI responded to The Verge, stating that the company has no interest in other companies’ trade secrets and remains focused on developing innovative technology. Apple’s allegations against Tang Tan and Chang Liu involve accessing and downloading Apple’s confidential hardware-related files, instructing others to copy confidential information, and breaching post-employment obligations.

Apple accuses Tan of using Apple’s confidential information to benefit OpenAI, including emailing information to himself before leaving Apple and requesting confidential Apple data during interviews with Apple employees for OpenAI positions. The lawsuit claims that OpenAI has been targeting Apple’s partner network and supply chain, utilizing Apple’s proprietary processes for its own benefit.

Apple asserts that over 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, and OpenAI has advised departing Apple staffers to inform them if Apple personnel ask them to sign anything. Despite reaching out to OpenAI in February with concerns, Apple claims that OpenAI never responded.

OpenAI’s first hardware product is expected to launch next year, but Apple casts doubt on its ability to do so without relying on Apple’s work. The lawsuit characterizes OpenAI’s hardware business as built on illegally acquired trade secrets.

Update, July 10th: Added statement from OpenAI.

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