Apple sues OpenAI over alleged trade‑secret theft

Apple filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing OpenAI and two former Apple employees of misappropriating Apple’s trade secrets to accelerate OpenAI’s entry into consumer hardware. The complaint names Tang Tan, a former Apple vice‑president of product design who is now OpenAI’s chief hardware officer, and Chang Liu, a former senior systems electrical engineer. Apple alleges Tan directed job candidates still at Apple to bring actual Apple components to interviews and shared internal project code‑names, while Liu kept an Apple‑issued laptop after leaving, used a security bug to access Apple’s internal network and downloaded dozens of confidential hardware‑related files. The filing says OpenAI also coaxed a manufacturing partner into using Apple’s proprietary metal‑finishing technique, believing it had Apple’s permission. Apple seeks a permanent injunction to stop OpenAI from using or disclosing the information, the return of all Apple materials, and damages. The suit marks a sharp escalation in the relationship that began in 2024 when Apple integrated ChatGPT into its devices, and follows OpenAI’s $6.5 billion acquisition of the design studio io Products founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive. Apple notes that more than 400 former Apple staff now work at OpenAI, describing the conduct as “a coordinated pattern of misconduct at an institutional level.”