Apple Sues OpenAI Over Alleged Theft of Hardware Secrets

Apple has sued OpenAI over what it describes as a "pattern of theft" of its trade secrets, allegedly committed by engineers who worked at Apple before joining the AI company. The complaint, which also names hardware startup IO Products — acquired by OpenAI in 2025 — and two specific employees, argues that OpenAI's nascent devices business is built on technology stolen from Apple.

What exactly Apple is alleging

According to the complaint obtained by The Verge, Apple says it uncovered "a pattern of theft of Apple's trade secrets by OpenAI employees who were formerly at Apple." Beyond OpenAI itself, the filing names IO Products, Jony Ive's hardware company that OpenAI bought in 2025, along with two individuals: Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer, and Chang Liu, who joined OpenAI from Apple in January.

Liu's case is the most detailed. Apple claims he accessed its systems after leaving the company and downloaded information that included "dozens of Apple's confidential hardware-related files, including voluminous, detailed information about unreleased products, engineering presentations, technical specifications, and proprietary project data."

The complaint goes further, describing deliberate conduct to circumvent internal security. Apple alleges that Liu instructed a former Apple colleague on how to copy confidential files and "avoid trouble" with the company's security team before she joined OpenAI. According to the filing, Liu allegedly told her they should communicate over Line Messenger to avoid being detected.

"Mr. Liu's material breaches of his contract are equally clear and deliberate: he accessed, copied, and directed the disclosure of Apple Confidential Information after his employment ended, in direct violation of his post-termination obligations," Apple says in the lawsuit.

The chief hardware officer's role

As for Tang Tan, Apple claims he has been "methodically using Apple's confidential information to benefit OpenAI." Among the conduct attributed to him is emailing himself information about Apple suppliers before leaving the company, as well as asking for confidential Apple information while interviewing Apple employees for OpenAI jobs.

The accusation describes a pattern that goes beyond isolated individuals. According to the lawsuit, OpenAI allegedly asked Apple staffers to bring items like "CAD/design artifacts" and "prototypes" to interviews. Apple sums it up this way: "This is a systematic effort to acquire, retain, and use Apple's trade secrets to help OpenAI try to replicate the secret technologies, business processes, and supply chain innovations that took Apple decades to build in its consumer hardware business."

The attack on the supply chain

One of the most sensitive parts of the filing doesn't concern internal data, but Apple's network of industrial partners. The company alleges that OpenAI has been "targeting Apple's prized partner network and supply chain directly," and cites the case of an Apple partner — which works with the company on industrial design and metal-finishing techniques — that OpenAI allegedly had "perform Apple's proprietary, trade secret processes for OpenAI's benefit."

This line of accusation reveals where the real competitive value in consumer hardware actually lies. A device's design can be inferred; the manufacturing processes, finishes, and supplier relationships capable of executing them at scale are far harder to reproduce. Apple has long maintained that much of its edge lies not just in the chip or the software, but in how its products are physically made. That the lawsuit focuses there suggests Apple considers its supply chain just as worth protecting as its code.

A talent flow turned litigation

Apple claims that more than 400 of its former employees now work at OpenAI. Talent movement between major tech companies is common in Silicon Valley, but the company frames it as part of the problem: it accuses OpenAI of advising departing Apple employees to let OpenAI know if Apple personnel "ask you to sign anything."

That detail matters because it touches on the most delicate legal line in these kinds of cases. Job mobility is legitimate, and so is carrying general knowledge gained from a previous job. What trade secret law prohibits is taking and using specific confidential information. Drawing that distinction is exactly what a court will have to sort out, and it tends to be the most contested ground in this type of litigation.

Apple also says it tried to resolve the matter before going to court: it claims it contacted OpenAI in February to raise its concerns and ask what the company was doing to look into the problem. "OpenAI never responded," according to Apple.

Both sides respond

An Apple spokesperson shared the company's statement with 9to5Mac: "At Apple, our teams are constantly developing breakthrough technologies to create the best products and services in the world, and protecting their work and intellectual property is something we take very seriously. Recently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Apple's secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products. We will always defend our teams' hard work and innovations, and we are taking all appropriate steps to do so."

OpenAI denies the claims. OpenAI's Drew Pusateri told The Verge: "We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere." Apple didn't immediately reply to a request for comment from The Verge.

Why this lawsuit matters

OpenAI's first hardware product is expected to arrive next year. The lawsuit isn't just seeking damages — it directly challenges OpenAI's ability to ship that device without relying on Apple's work. "OpenAI's nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations," the lawsuit says, "rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets."

That language — aggressive even by the standards of tech litigation — points to Apple's real target: not just compensation, but casting doubt over the very viability of OpenAI's upcoming device. If Apple were to establish that the product relies on stolen material, the consequences could extend beyond money and affect what OpenAI can or cannot actually launch.

For the industry, the lawsuit illustrates a collision that had been building for some time. OpenAI, born as a software lab, has decided to enter the territory where Apple is strongest: consumer hardware. Its acquisition of Jony Ive's startup, one of the designers most closely tied to Apple's golden era of product design, already signaled that ambition. The lawsuit turns that rivalry into open conflict.

It remains to be seen what concrete evidence Apple presents beyond the claims in the filing, and how OpenAI will formally respond in court. But the underlying message is that the race to build native hardware for the AI era won't be fought only in labs — it will also be fought in courtrooms.