Apple accuses OpenAI of trade secrets theft

Apple sued OpenAI and two of its employees in federal court Friday, alleging the ChatGPT creator undertook an effort to steal trade secrets as it tries to break into the hardware market.

The complaint, signed by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP partner Gabriel S. Gross, alleges OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan and engineer Chang Liu misused proprietary information they obtained while working at Apple. The lawsuit also claims OpenAI actively recruits Apple employees and asks them to disclose confidential information throughout the interview process.

OpenAI denies the allegations and says it's focused on its own technology.

"We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere," the company said in a statement.

Liu, Apple says, used his company-issued laptop after leaving for OpenAI to access Apple's internal network and shared folders. Liu also downloaded proprietary files containing information on unreleased products and hardware specifications, the complaint says.

The lawsuit alleges Liu also instructed another employee interviewing for a role at OpenAI on how to download files without flagging Apple's security team, and told her what information to bring to her interview.

Tan, who spent 24 years at Apple, eventually becoming vice president of Product Design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, uses information he obtained while working at the company to extract additional confidential information from interview candidates, the complaint says. Apple alleges Tan uses internal codenames he learned while working at the company to ask candidates about confidential projects and asks candidates to bring product components for "show and tell" sessions during interviews.

The pair's actions are part of a companywide effort to extract information from Apple, the company says, specifically geared toward its new hardware division.

"This is emblematic of how OpenAI has been unlawfully extracting confidential Apple information through its recruiting processes more generally," the complaint alleges. "First, to prepare for an interview with leaders at OpenAI, a candidate is encouraged to access and get ready to discuss some of Apple's most sensitive information. Then, in the interview, OpenAI leaders, who are former Apple insiders like Mr. Tan, use Apple's internal project codes to ask about and receive more of Apple's trade secret information."

According to the complaint, OpenAI has hired more than 400 former Apple employees. Apple alleges OpenAI has obtained a confidential metal-finishing technique and approached an Apple supplier about replicating a proprietary battery design.

"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 complaint says. The case is Apple Inc. v. Liu et al, 5:26-cv-07078 (N.D. Cal., filed July 10, 2026).

Apple believes the misconduct is driven by OpenAI's efforts to enter the hardware market. Reports earlier this year indicated OpenAI was working to develop an AI-equipped smartphone. The company acquired io Products, a hardware startup created by a group of former Apple employees that included Tan, in 2025 for over $6 billion.

"The Corporate Defendants, with or through their employees or partners, have been acting in concert and as an enterprise, exploiting Apple's confidential information to advance OpenAI's efforts to enter the consumer hardware market," the complaint states.

Apple says the lawsuit was the result of an investigation into OpenAI's conduct, which "uncovered a pattern of theft of Apple's trade secrets by OpenAI employees who were formerly at Apple."

Apple brought claims under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, as well as breach of intellectual property agreement against Liu and Tan.

Apple is seeking damages related to the alleged misappropriation, as well as an injunction preventing OpenAI from using any of the confidential information that it's obtained.

OpenAI faced a lawsuit last year from Elon Musk's xAI alleging it used its hiring process to obtain trade secrets, but the case was dismissed last month by U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin.