Apple sues OpenAI over alleged trade‑secret theft by former employees

Sun Sep 06 2026 06:47:35 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Apple files federal lawsuit claiming OpenAI and former employees stole confidential info to advance its hardware ambitions.

Apple has taken the offensive by suing OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, over a pattern he calls "theft" of the company’s trade secrets. Two former Apple employees who joined OpenAI are alleged to have sent themselves internal documents, while interviewers are accused of asking Apple staff to bring real parts to interview. The suit also names OpenAI’s acquisition of the design firm io Products and former senior Apple engineers. Apple seeks an immediate injunction and seeks unspecified monetary damages while OpenAI reviews the claims.

Apple has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that OpenAI and two former Apple employees stole trade secrets to aid its hardware ambitions.

The action, announced on Friday, accuses OpenAI of a "pattern of theft" involving confidential product development information. Apple claims that ex‑employees, after leaving the company, emailed sensitive Apple data to themselves and used it to build OpenAI’s next generation of hardware.

Apple also names io Products, the design startup founded by ex‑Apple executive Jony Ive, and a former senior Apple electrical engineer, Chang Liu, as well as senior design VP Tang Yew Tan, now OpenAI’s chief hardware officer. The lawsuit alleys all parties together, saying they acted in concert to exploit private information and advance OpenAI’s consumer hardware strategy.

OpenAI has denied the allegations, with spokesman Drew Pusateri stating the company has no interest in other firms’ trade secrets and is focused on building innovative technology. The company is reviewing Apple’s complaint and, according to Apple, has ignored prior concerns raised in February.

Apple seeks the court to stop OpenAI from using or obtaining any alleged confidential information and is demanding unspecified monetary damages. The suit arrives as OpenAI is poised to release its first hardware product—a keyboard designed to work with its AI tools—and is preparing to go public on the stock market.