The ChatGPT-maker was accused of stealing commerce secrets and techniques in a lawsuit filed by Apple in the US District Court docket for the Northern District of California on Friday, July 10. Apple has accused OpenAI and its {hardware} chief of partaking in a coordinated marketing campaign to steal details about its upcoming merchandise as a part of the AI startup’s efforts to develop its personal lineup of AI-first gadgets.
As a part of the litigation, Apple additionally named two former workers who’ve since joined OpenAI. One among them is Tang Tan, the chief {hardware} officer at OpenAI. Tan was beforehand Apple’s vice chairman of product design, and led growth of the iPhone, smartwatch, AirPods, and several other different choices as a part of the corporate’s {hardware} engineering division.
In 2024, Tan left Apple to launch an AI gadgets startup referred to as io Merchandise, alongside Apple design veterans Jony Ive and Evans Hankey. The startup was acquired by OpenAI final 12 months for $6.5 billion. To make sure, Ive and Hankey usually are not named within the lawsuit.
Moreover Tan, a former iPhone {hardware} engineer, Chang Liu, who joined OpenAI in January 2026, can be named within the lawsuit and accused of offering confidential supplies.
The authorized standoff between Apple and OpenAI underscores how the high-profile partnership between the 2 corporations have soured. Past the courtroom, the dispute additionally displays deeper strategic tensions over AI expertise, mental property, and the race to outline the subsequent technology of AI-powered gadgets.
“At each stage, from members of its technical employees to its chief {hardware} officer, and in coordination with enterprise companions, OpenAI has been stealing Apple’s commerce secrets and techniques and confidential data, As a pure outcome, OpenAI’s nascent {hardware} enterprise now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its unlawful reliance on misappropriated commerce secrets and techniques,” Apple mentioned in its lawsuit.
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Denying the accusations specified by the lawsuit, OpenAI responded by saying, “We’ve got no real interest in different corporations’ commerce secrets and techniques. We stay centered on constructing revolutionary know-how that empowers folks all over the place.”
What are Apple’s allegations towards OpenAI?
–Particulars of secret tasks: OpenAI allegedly requested job candidates from Apple to share particulars about secret tasks on the iPhone-maker and even carry unreleased machine elements and prototypes to their interviews.
-Downloading confidential information: Apple additionally accused Chang Liu of downloading inside paperwork from a laptop computer owned by the corporate to share with OpenAI.
“Over a number of weeks, whereas growing {hardware} for OpenAI, Mr. Liu surreptitiously accessed and downloaded dozens of Apple’s confidential hardware-related information, together with voluminous, detailed in formation about unreleased merchandise, engineering displays, technical specs and proprietary undertaking information,” in accordance with the lawsuit.
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-Educating workers tips on how to depart: Apple alleged that OpenAI supplied to actively coach its workers on tips on how to deal with their exits from the Cupertino-based tech big.
“OpenAI has endorsed departing workers to not disclose their subsequent employer and given recommendation on tips on how to keep away from the ‘dreaded stroll out’ that might promptly take away them from the corporate relatively than giving them a typical two weeks through which they might proceed to entry Apple’s confidential data and commerce secrets and techniques,” the lawsuit learn.
-Reaching out to Apple companions: OpenAI allegedly used confidential materials shared by Apple workers to achieve out to the latter’s manufacturing companions, one among whom was even requested to display Apple’s approach for ending metallic on its gadgets, the lawsuit mentioned.
-No response from OpenAI: Apple claimed that it despatched a letter to OpenAI in February 2026, warning that confidential data may very well be “making its technique to OpenAI’s enterprise improperly.” Nevertheless, the startup allegedly didn’t reply to Apple’s letter, in accordance with the lawsuit.
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Within the lawsuit, Apple mentioned it’s looking for a jury trial case. It’s additional looking for an injunction that might stop OpenAI from possessing, utilizing or sharing Apple’s commerce secrets and techniques, in addition to an order requiring OpenAI to return Apple’s mental property.
Apple additionally desires OpenAI to be directed by the court docket to stop its practices and destroy any proprietary supplies. It desires OpenAI to revamp upcoming merchandise so they don’t embrace any of its know-how.
How did the Apple-OpenAI partnership unravel?
The authorized dispute between Apple and OpenAI marks a dramatic flip of their partnership over the previous few years. In 2024, Apple struck a cope with OpenAI to make use of the startup’s ChatGPT know-how as a part of its overhaul of merchandise, together with its Siri digital assistant.
The partnership was introduced at Apple’s Worldwide Builders Convention that 12 months, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sitting within the viewers. On the time, Apple software program head Craig Federighi described the startup because the “pioneer and market chief” in AI.
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The deal allowed customers to entry ChatGPT outcomes inside Siri and faucet into the AI chatbot to generate textual content and analyse surrounding objects through the iPhone’s Visible Intelligence function. The association was additionally later expanded, with Apple including ChatGPT as an possibility for creating pictures in its Picture Playground app and analysing on-screen content material.
Nevertheless, tensions have been brewing between the 2 since final 12 months following stories that OpenAI has been dissatisfied in how ChatGPT has been built-in into Siri. Whereas the 2 corporations solely labored collectively on AI options utilized by the iPhone and different merchandise, and by no means had a partnership to develop {hardware} gadgets, OpenAI enlisting former Apple design visionary Jony Ive to assist develop gadgets is claimed to have made issues worse.
Earlier this 12 months, Apple introduced that it was teaming up with Google to leverage its Gemini AI know-how to be able to energy Siri and its different AI merchandise. In response, OpenAI has mulled authorized choices towards Apple because the startup mentioned it didn’t see the anticipated advantages from the partnership and even thought-about sending a breach of contract discover.
In the meantime, OpenAI has additionally managed to lure away an enormous variety of Apple workers with the lawsuit stating that greater than 400 ex-Apple staffers at the moment are at OpenAI, together with the highest government who was once in control of Apple’s good glasses undertaking until final month.
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One other side highlighted by the case is the next-generation of AI gadgets coming to Silicon Valley, with Apple, OpenAI, Meta, and several other others racing to develop new devices that places AI on the centre in a post-smartphone future. For its half, Apple is reportedly engaged on a spread of gadgets, together with good glasses, pendants, and camera-equipped AirPods.
OpenAI, alternatively, is reportedly engaged on a telephone that might place autonomous AI brokers on the forefront, as an alternative of the app-based mannequin that has been championed by Apple and Google through the years.