Apple Sues OpenAI: Trade Secret Theft Allegations Emerge

Apple has filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging a systematic campaign to steal confidential hardware trade secrets. The complaint names senior figures in OpenAI’s device business. Apple accuses OpenAI of a coordinated effort to extract proprietary knowledge about unreleased products and manufacturing processes. The lawsuit states OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer, Tang Tan, directed job candidates to bring Apple hardware components to interviews. It also mentions former Apple engineer Chang Liu, who allegedly downloaded confidential files after leaving Apple. OpenAI acquired Jony Ive’s startup, IO Products, in 2025 for over six billion dollars. This acquisition signaled OpenAI's move into consumer devices. Apple's updated Siri assistant will now use Google's Gemini AI models instead of OpenAI technology. This lawsuit highlights growing tensions between two major tech companies.