Apple sues OpenAI, io Products over alleged theft of hardware trade secrets

The lawsuit emerges from a fundamental shift in OpenAI's strategy. For years, the company relied on partnerships with hardware makers like Apple to distribute its AI products. But under CEO Sam Altman's vision of a new class of AI gadgets that could replace smartphones as the primary consumer device, OpenAI has moved to control its own physical products. The acquisition of Jony Ive's io Products for $6.4 billion（約1兆円） signals a serious commitment to that ambition—but Apple's complaint suggests the pathway depended on systematic acquisition of Apple's own proprietary knowledge.

The accusation is particularly striking given Apple's legendary secrecy around product development and its historical ferocity in protecting intellectual property. The complaint alleges that OpenAI used multiple channels to harvest trade secrets: current and former employees encouraged to share information during recruiting, confidential files downloaded and distributed, and direct instructions on how to circumvent Apple's security protocols. If substantiated, these allegations would paint a picture not of casual knowledge transfer but of deliberate and coordinated appropriation.

The timing amplifies the tension. Both companies are in periods of significant transition—Apple is handing the CEO role to John Ternus in September, while OpenAI prepares for an initial public offering amid competition from Anthropic and Google. OpenAI has already faced trade-secret litigation before: the New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in 2023 for allegedly using articles to train AI models without permission, and a California judge dismissed xAI's June lawsuit alleging OpenAI recruited a former xAI engineer to share information about Grok. This latest case suggests the pattern may be widening.