Apple Sues OpenAI Over Theft of Trade Secrets by Former Employees

Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of stealing trade secrets through former employees. According to the lawsuit, these employees intentionally provided confidential information about Apple's unannounced technologies and products for OpenAI's benefit.

Allegations

The lawsuit names two main defendants: Tang Tan, former vice president of product design at Apple who left in February 2024, and Chang Liu, a senior systems engineer who left Apple in January 2026 and joined OpenAI. Apple claims that Tan used internal Apple information during interviews with candidates and asked them to bring actual hardware components. Liu allegedly exploited a security flaw to download thousands of pages of technical files and mocked it in communications.

Apple's Response

An Apple spokesperson stated: “At Apple, we are constantly developing groundbreaking technologies, and protecting the work of our teams and intellectual property is crucial to us. Recently, significant evidence has emerged that OpenAI employees have unlawfully obtained our secret and confidential information. We will always defend the hard work and innovation of our teams.” Apple allegedly contacted OpenAI in February, but the company did not respond.

What Does Apple Want?

The lawsuit filed in federal court in California seeks an injunction to stop the alleged conduct and compensation for damages. Apple also notes that OpenAI is now working on its own hardware, including a smartphone and smart speaker. The lawsuit comes at a time when OpenAI is developing its first consumer device.