Apple sues OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft, jeopardizing its rival hardware plans
A lawsuit filed on Friday accuses the ChatGPT maker of orchestrating a scheme to extract confidential hardware data from former Apple employees, with over 400 ex-staff now working at OpenAI.
The lawsuit
Apple filed a 41-page complaint in a California court on Friday, accusing OpenAI of a concerted effort to steal trade secrets and use them to build a competitor to the iPhone. The suit names Tang Yew Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer and a former Apple vice-president, and ex-Apple engineer Chang Liu as central figures. It describes a "widespread theft" of confidential documents, engineering presentations and unreleased product details, allegedly driven by OpenAI's leadership.
OpenAI's nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.
The bug and the downloads
The complaint zeroes in on Chang Liu, a systems electrical engineer who spent eight years at Apple before joining OpenAI in January 2026. According to the filing, on 9 February he discovered a previously unknown authentication bug that let him access Apple's shared network folders from an Apple-issued laptop he never returned. Over several weeks, Liu downloaded dozens of files detailing unreleased products, circuit board presentations, technical specifications and proprietary project data.
LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny.
Liu celebrated the find in messages with Yu-Ting "Alyssa" Peng, a colleague still at Apple, who replied "I'm ready." Apple says server logs show only Liu exploited the vulnerability before it was fixed. Peng later joined OpenAI herself but is not a defendant.
- OpenAI acquires Jony Ive's io Products for $6.5 billion, absorbing hardware talent.
- Chang Liu leaves Apple after 8 years and joins OpenAI.
- Liu discovers an unpatched authentication bug giving him access to Apple's shared network folders.
- Liu downloads dozens of confidential files, including unreleased product and circuit board details.
- Yu-Ting 'Alyssa' Peng leaves Apple for OpenAI, after allegedly sharing secrets with Liu.
- Apple files a 41-page trade-secret suit against OpenAI in California.
OpenAI's hardware ambitions
The lawsuit arrives as OpenAI races to build a screenless AI device, a project that has involved designer Jony Ive and absorbed more than 400 former Apple employees. OpenAI bought Ive's hardware startup io Products for $6.5 billion in May 2025 and had planned to unveil the device this year and launch it in 2027. The Apple suit now threatens those timelines; Bloomberg reported the legal fight leaves the effort in limbo and could force a fundamental reworking of the product.
Systemic poaching allegations
Beyond the technical breach, Apple claims a pattern of misconduct. Tan allegedly asked Apple staff interviewing at OpenAI to bring components and unreleased product samples. The complaint says Peng fed Liu a steady stream of confidential Apple project data after his departure, and that Liu coached her on copying files without alerting security. Apple asserts the brain drain has hollowed out teams responsible for the iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods.
Reactions and next steps
Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, posted on X that he has "enormous respect" for Apple but is "not afraid" of the company. Drew Pusateri, director of strategic communications, said OpenAI has "no interest in other companies' trade secrets" and remains focused on its own technology. Apple is seeking injunctions to block OpenAI from using the stolen information and signaled that discovery will reveal a wider pattern of misappropriation. The clash recalls Apple's eight-year patent war against Android handset makers, with the outcome likely to shape who dominates the emerging market for AI-native hardware.
