Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI over the theft of confidential developments
Apple has filed a lawsuit in a California federal court against OpenAI and two of its employees, accusing the developer of ChatGPT of misappropriating confidential information and trade secrets related to the company’s upcoming hardware products.
The company stated that it has substantial evidence of the misappropriation of confidential materials pertaining to Apple’s unannounced technologies, manufacturing processes, and new devices.
“There is substantial evidence that individuals working at OpenAI have misappropriated Apple’s secret and confidential information regarding our unannounced technologies, processes, and products. We will always protect the hard work and innovation of our teams and are taking all appropriate measures to do so,” Apple emphasized.
The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI systematically poached current and former Apple employees, using them to obtain blueprints, technical documentation, and other confidential information. According to Apple, this practice is part of a deliberate strategy allegedly supported by OpenAI’s leadership.
In response, an OpenAI spokesperson denied the allegations.
“We are not interested in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on creating innovative technologies that open up new possibilities for people around the world,” the company stated.
Apple notes that in May 2025, OpenAI acquired the “io” studio for $6.4 billion, which is led by former Apple chief designer Jony Ive. After that, according to the plaintiff, the company began actively hiring Apple specialists, and currently more than 400 former employees of the tech giant work at OpenAI.
The lawsuit also states that Apple launched an internal investigation back in February and warned OpenAI about a possible leak of trade secrets, but never received a response.
One of the defendants is OpenAI’s head of hardware, Tan Tan, who left Apple in early 2024. The company alleges that even before his departure, he shared confidential information about Apple’s suppliers with OpenAI, and during interviews with former colleagues, he allegedly used inside information to obtain new data.
Another defendant is engineer Chang Liu, who worked on Apple’s most secret projects before moving to OpenAI in 2026.
According to Apple, he:
- failed to return one of the company’s devices after his termination;
- failed to follow all procedures required by company policy;
- gained access to trade secrets via another employee’s computer;
- instructed her on how to copy files while bypassing security systems;
- after being terminated, exploited a vulnerability in the company’s storage system to download confidential materials.
In addition, the lawsuit states that other former Apple employees also allegedly removed confidential information immediately before their termination.
The company is asking the court to:
- prohibit OpenAI and the defendants from destroying evidence in the case;
- to order the return of all copies of Apple’s confidential information and trade secrets;
- award damages or royalties for the use of technologies that Apple claims were unlawfully misappropriated.
The company emphasizes that the facts cited in the lawsuit may be only “the tip of the iceberg,” and that OpenAI’s hardware development business, in their view, is built on Apple’s illegally obtained technological advancements.
This is reported by the Financial Times.
Earlier, OpenAI, the developer of the popular ChatGPT chatbot, proposed transferring 5% of its shares to the direct control of the U.S. president’s administration.
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