Apple sues OpenAI alleging systematic trade secret theft for hardware development

Apple filed a lawsuit Friday in Northern California federal court against OpenAI and two former employees—Tang Tan and Chang Liu—alleging systematic misappropriation of Apple trade secrets to accelerate OpenAI's consumer hardware development. The complaint accuses OpenAI leadership of directing employees to solicit Apple's confidential information, coaching departing Apple workers on how to evade security protocols, and accessing proprietary technical documents. Apple is seeking injunctive relief, return of materials, and damages.

Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer and a 24-year Apple veteran, allegedly used Apple codenames during recruiting to elicit information from job candidates still employed at Apple, instructing them to bring actual parts (batteries, logic boards, SIPs) to interviews for 'show and tell.' The lawsuit alleges Tan distributed Apple's internal 'Need to Know' offboarding document to new OpenAI hires, teaching them how to evade Apple's exit security checks. Chang Liu, a senior systems electrical engineer at Apple, allegedly retained an issued work laptop after leaving and exploited a security bug to access and download over 1,000 pages of confidential engineering files—then shared coaching notes with other Apple recruits on materials to study before their OpenAI interviews.

The legal action marks a severe rupture between Apple and OpenAI, reversing their 2024 partnership when ChatGPT was integrated into Apple Intelligence. OpenAI's $6.4 billion acquisition of Jony Ive's io Products in 2025 marked the formal shift into hardware competition. Apple alleges over 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI. The lawsuit also targets io Products as a defendant and suggests OpenAI approached Apple partners with confidential Apple manufacturing techniques, asking them to perform metal-finishing work on OpenAI's behalf 'while misleading the partner' about having Apple's consent.

For hardware teams: this escalation signals acute risk in hiring ex-Apple talent into direct competitor roles—Apple appears aggressive on defending unannounced product designs and supply chain relationships. The accusation that OpenAI 'coached' departing staff on security evasion suggests a coordinated information-gathering operation. Apple did not comment on whether the lawsuit affects the ongoing ChatGPT integration in Apple Intelligence (announced separately based on Google Gemini instead of OpenAI models).