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Apple has launched a legal assault on OpenAI. The iPhone maker accuses its former partner of stealing trade secrets to build rival consumer hardware products. The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in Northern California.
Apple's filing pulls no punches. It claims the theft ran "at every level" and stretched from junior staffers up to OpenAI's chief hardware officer. The company says outside business partners helped carry it out.
Two individuals are named as defendants alongside OpenAI and Jony Ive's startup io Products. One is Tang Tan. He spent 24 years at Apple as a vice president before becoming OpenAI's chief hardware officer.
The other is Chang Liu. He's a longtime Apple engineer accused of stealing a company laptop on his way out the door. Apple claims OpenAI also coached him on how to dodge internal security checks.
Apple's most eyebrow-raising claim involves OpenAI's hiring process. The suit alleges Tan urged Apple staffers interviewing at OpenAI to smuggle "actual parts" into the room for show-and-tell sessions. Those sessions were designed to pry loose confidential secrets.
OpenAI, for now, denies any wrongdoing entirely. "We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets," a spokesman said, adding that the company remains focused on building technology that "empowers people everywhere." Apple stands firmly by its case.
A company representative said the lawsuit follows "significant evidence" of wrongdoing uncovered in recent months. The two sides reportedly discussed Apple's concerns back in February. Those talks apparently went nowhere.
The legal war marks a stunning fall from grace for two companies that once seemed inseparable. OpenAI's ChatGPT was folded into the iPhone's operating system back in 2024. Sam Altman even visited Apple's headquarters to mark the occasion.
Ties frayed after OpenAI paid $6.4 billion last year for io Products. That startup was founded by longtime Apple design chief Jony Ive. Apple has since moved on and built its new Siri around Google's Gemini instead of OpenAI's technology.
The lawsuit lands as OpenAI gears up for a highly anticipated public offering. Apple wants a judge to immediately block the company from using any of its trade secrets. It is also seeking unspecified monetary damages and a permanent injunction.
