Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on Friday, alleging trade secret theft and breach of contract.
The iPhone maker claims the misconduct, which shows a pattern of theft by OpenAI employees who previously worked at Apple, was directed by OpenAI’s senior executives, including Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses Tan of using Apple’s confidential project code names during OpenAI’s hiring process, asking job seekers to bring Apple hardware components to interviews, coaching departing Apple employees on how to circumvent the company’s security procedures, and soliciting details about the company’s unannounced products.
Before joining OpenAI, Tan spent 24 years at Apple, most recently as vice president of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch.
These accusations came as OpenAI was rumored to be developing its first hardware product that would likely compete with the iPhone. Last April, industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that the device could become a smartphone that relies on AI agents instead of apps. If true, this would represent one of the biggest threats to Apple’s core hardware business to date.
Former Apple chief designer Jony Ive’s device startup io was acquired by OpenAI in a $6.5 billion deal last year to support OpenAI’s hardware ambitions. The document had io’s name on it but not Ive’s.
Tan isn’t the only OpenAI employee mentioned in the new complaint. Apple also alleges that Chang Liu, who spent eight years at Apple as a senior systems electrical engineer, failed to return an Apple-issued laptop after leaving the company for OpenAI in 2026 and used the computer to download confidential Apple technical documents.
Apple said in its complaint that the stolen documents contained information about unannounced technologies, features and products, including technical specifications, engineering presentations and proprietary project data.
Liu was also accused of sharing Apple’s confidential information with other Apple employees applying for jobs at OpenAI and advising at least one person on what to study before their interview.
Apple wrote to OpenAI in February to express its concerns, but received no response, the complaint said.
The former employee’s actions are alleged to be part of OpenAI’s strategy to extract confidential information from Apple, including asking Apple employees to bring designs and prototypes to interviews and answer questions about their parts and supplier selection processes.
Apple said its ongoing investigation revealed that OpenAI and its partners used Apple’s confidential information while the AI model maker was developing its own hardware products. For example, the filing mentions a proprietary metal finishing technology that OpenAI used after its partners were misled into believing it had permission from Apple.
Like many technology companies, Apple typically analyzes communications originating from company-owned devices and reads server logs to investigate potential trade secret theft or other inappropriate activity. Taking the case to court will give Apple the opportunity to learn more about the extent of the alleged manipulation through the legal discovery process.
Apple has asked the court to enjoin OpenAI from using or disclosing trade secrets, return confidential Apple materials, and preserve evidence related to the case.
“This is the tip of the iceberg. Apple lacks visibility into what is happening behind closed doors at OpenAI. At OpenAI, such misconduct is normalized and exemplified by leadership.” “Unsurprisingly, OpenAI’s nascent hardware business now rests on the weakest of foundations, rotten to its core due to its unlawful reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.”
In a prepared statement, Apple said:
At Apple, our teams are constantly developing groundbreaking technologies to create the world’s best products and services, and we take protecting their work and intellectual property very seriously. Significant evidence has recently emerged showing that individuals employed by OpenAI improperly obtained secret and confidential information from Apple regarding the company’s non-public technologies, processes, and products. We will always champion our team’s hard work and innovation, and we are taking all appropriate measures to do so.
OpenAI has been contacted for comment. The company responded by pointing to a public statement shared with
The documents can be found here or read below.
This story is developing and will be updated. Originally published at 1:32 PM PT.
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