Apple has sued OpenAI, claiming that former Apple employees—now working at OpenAI and its acquired hardware division IO Products—stole confidential information about unreleased products, engineering processes, and supply chain innovations. Apple alleges this is part of a systematic effort to help OpenAI build hardware without decades of legitimate development, and notes that more than 400 former Apple staff now work at OpenAI. OpenAI denies the allegations and says it has no interest in other companies' trade secrets.
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Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that former Apple employees now at OpenAI—including chief hardware officer Tang Tan and employee Chang Liu—unlawfully accessed and copied Apple's confidential hardware information, including details about unreleased products, engineering presentations, and technical specifications. Apple also named IO Products (Jony Ive's hardware startup, which OpenAI acquired in 2025) as a defendant. OpenAI denies the allegations, saying it has no interest in other companies' trade secrets.
Why it matters
More than 400 former Apple staffers now work at OpenAI, according to Apple's complaint. Apple alleges this represents a systematic effort to acquire trade secrets that took Apple decades to build in consumer hardware, including supply chain innovations and proprietary manufacturing processes. The lawsuit claims OpenAI has instructed departing Apple staff to bring items like CAD/design artifacts and prototypes to job interviews, and has asked Apple partners to perform Apple's proprietary processes for OpenAI's benefit.
What to watch
OpenAI's first hardware product is expected to arrive next year. Apple's lawsuit casts doubt on OpenAI's ability to ship without relying on misappropriated information, stating that 'OpenAI's nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations.' Apple reached out to OpenAI in February with concerns; OpenAI did not respond.
Apple's lawsuit reflects mounting tensions around talent mobility and intellectual property in the AI hardware race. The complaint underscores how OpenAI's aggressive hiring of Apple engineers—more than 400 former staff now work there, per Apple's claim—creates a channel for sensitive hardware knowledge to flow to a competitor preparing to enter the consumer device market. Apple alleges not just individual wrongdoing but a pattern: former executives like Tang Tan emailing supplier information to themselves before leaving; staff being instructed to bring prototypes to interviews; departing employees being coached to avoid signing additional agreements.
The timing matters. OpenAI's hardware product is expected next year, and Apple's lawsuit explicitly attacks its legitimacy, arguing the company cannot ship without relying on stolen secrets. By suing now, Apple is attempting to establish a legal record of misappropriation before that launch, potentially exposing OpenAI to injunctive relief or damages if a court agrees that foundational hardware designs or supply chain practices were compromised. OpenAI's defense—that it has no interest in trade secrets and remains focused on building innovative technology—does not address the specific allegations of accessing systems, copying files, or instructing employees on document transfer. The lawsuit also implicates IO Products, the hardware startup Jony Ive co-founded that OpenAI acquired in 2025, suggesting Apple believes OpenAI's hardware ambitions are entangled with misappropriated work from the start.
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