Apple has filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI alleging a systematic campaign to steal confidential hardware trade secrets — and the complaint names some of the most senior figures in OpenAI’s nascent device business. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the Apple trade secrets lawsuit accuses OpenAI of orchestrating what Apple calls a coordinated, multi-level effort to extract decades’ worth of proprietary knowledge about unreleased products, manufacturing processes, and supply chain innovations.
Summary
Key takeaways
- Apple sued OpenAI in federal court in Northern California on July 10, 2026, alleging systematic theft of hardware trade secrets.
- The lawsuit names OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan, former Apple engineer Chang Liu, and IO Products — Jony Ive’s startup acquired by OpenAI for $6.4–6.5 billion in 2025.
- Chang Liu allegedly downloaded confidential Apple files after leaving the company and advised a colleague on how to evade Apple’s security team.
- Tang Tan is accused of directing job candidates to bring Apple hardware components to interviews and soliciting confidential information during the recruiting process.
- Apple contacted OpenAI in February about its concerns; OpenAI never responded, according to the complaint.
Apple Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI for Trade Secret Theft
The timing is striking. As recently as 2024, Apple and OpenAI were partners — ChatGPT was integrated into Apple’s operating system in a widely publicized deal, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman visited Apple’s headquarters for the announcement alongside Tim Cook. Now Apple is in federal court accusing OpenAI of running what the complaint describes as a scheme “at every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer.”
The breakdown in relations accelerated after OpenAI moved aggressively into hardware. In 2025, OpenAI acquired IO Products — the startup founded by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive — in a deal valued at approximately $6.4 to $6.5 billion. That acquisition signaled OpenAI’s intent to build consumer devices, almost certainly in direct competition with the iPhone. Apple’s updated Siri assistant, coming this fall, is now based on Google’s Gemini AI models rather than OpenAI technology — a visible sign of how much the relationship has deteriorated.
Allegations of Systematic Theft by Former Employees
Apple’s complaint does not frame this as isolated misconduct. The filing describes a deliberate organizational strategy, with more than 400 former Apple employees now working at OpenAI. Apple’s core allegation is that OpenAI didn’t just passively benefit from hiring Apple talent — it actively directed those employees, and candidates still at Apple, to harvest confidential information.
“This is a systematic effort to acquire, retain, and use Apple’s trade secrets to help OpenAI try to replicate the secret technologies, business processes, and supply chain innovations that took Apple decades to build in its consumer hardware business,” Apple states in the filing.
Apple also says OpenAI coached departing Apple employees on how to evade the company’s security procedures when leaving — and allegedly advised them to let OpenAI know if Apple personnel “ask you to sign anything.”
Key Defendants Named in the Complaint
Beyond OpenAI and IO Products, the lawsuit targets two individuals directly. Tang Tan, OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer, spent 24 years at Apple, most recently as VP of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch. Chang Liu, a former Apple senior systems electrical engineer who joined OpenAI in January 2026, is also named as a defendant.
Details of the Alleged Misconduct by OpenAI Employees
The specifics outlined in the complaint are detailed — and damaging if proven true.
Chang Liu’s Unauthorized Access and Guidance on Evading Security
According to the filing, Chang Liu accessed Apple’s systems and downloaded files after his employment had already ended — including what Apple describes as “dozens of Apple’s confidential hardware-related files,” covering unreleased products, engineering presentations, technical specifications, and proprietary project data. Apple also alleges Liu failed to return an Apple-issued laptop after leaving the company, and used that device to access confidential technical documents.
More specifically, Liu is accused of instructing a former Apple colleague on how to copy confidential files and “avoid trouble” with Apple’s security team before she joined OpenAI. According to the complaint, Liu advised her that they should communicate over Line Messenger to avoid detection. Apple states in the filing that “his accessed, copied, and directed the disclosure of Apple Confidential Information after his employment ended, in direct violation of his post-termination obligations.”
Tang Tan’s Role in Soliciting Confidential Information
Apple’s allegations against Tang Tan are broader in scope and arguably more significant given his seniority. The complaint accuses Tan of using Apple’s confidential project code names during OpenAI’s recruiting process — a detail that suggests deep familiarity with proprietary internal vocabulary. He is also accused of directing job candidates still employed at Apple to bring “actual parts” to their interviews for what the complaint describes as “show and tell” sessions, during which Tan and his team could extract further confidential information.
Beyond hardware, Tan allegedly emailed himself information about Apple suppliers before leaving the company, and asked interviewees for details about Apple’s unannounced products, component and vendor selection processes, and confidential project specifics.
The breadth of these alleged activities — from supplier intelligence to prototype show-and-tell — suggests Apple views this not as opportunistic misconduct but as a structured intelligence-gathering operation embedded in OpenAI’s hiring pipeline.
Apple’s Response and Legal Measures to Protect Its Intellectual Property
Apple is seeking damages, injunctions, and a court order requiring OpenAI to stop using its trade secrets and return any confidential materials. The company is also asking the court to preserve all evidence related to the case — an important step given Apple’s acknowledgment in the filing that it lacks full visibility into what has occurred internally at OpenAI.
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” Apple’s complaint states. “Apple lacks visibility into what’s been happening behind closed doors at OpenAI, where such misconduct is normalized and exemplified by leadership.”
Apple’s Defensive Statement and Legal Actions
An Apple spokesperson said: “Recently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Apple’s secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products. We will always defend our teams’ hard work and innovations, and we are taking all appropriate steps to do so.”
Apple says it sent a letter to OpenAI in February raising these concerns and requesting information about what OpenAI was doing to investigate the problem. According to the complaint, OpenAI never responded.
OpenAI’s Denial and Rebuttal
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri offered a brief but firm response: “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.”
The company has not commented on the specific allegations against Tan and Liu, nor on the February letter Apple says went unanswered.
What This Means for OpenAI’s Hardware Ambitions
The lawsuit lands at a particularly consequential moment for OpenAI. The company’s first hardware product is expected to launch next year, and industry speculation — including analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s suggestion in April that the device could be an AI-native smartphone — positions it as a potential direct competitor to the iPhone.
Apple’s complaint anticipates this and goes straight for the legitimacy of that product. “OpenAI’s nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations,” the filing states, “rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.” It’s an aggressive framing, designed not just for the courtroom but to cast doubt on whether OpenAI can credibly bring a hardware product to market on its own terms.
The lawsuit also arrives as OpenAI is reportedly preparing for what could be a historic IPO. Trade secret litigation of this scale — involving the most valuable company in the world, at the heart of OpenAI’s core new growth strategy — is the kind of legal cloud that can complicate investor appetite and due diligence significantly. It follows OpenAI’s recent win in federal court against Elon Musk, meaning the company enters this new legal battle with some courtroom momentum, but also with its legal and reputational bandwidth already stretched.
The legal discovery process will be central to what happens next. Apple acknowledges in the complaint that its investigation is ongoing and that it currently lacks visibility into the full scope of the alleged misconduct. As discovery proceeds, the actual depth of alleged access to Apple’s manufacturing processes, supplier relationships, and hardware designs will come into sharper focus — and with it, the real question of whether OpenAI’s hardware plans were built on borrowed foundations or not.
FAQ
What are the main allegations Apple makes against OpenAI in the lawsuit?
Apple alleges that OpenAI employees, including former Apple staff, stole confidential hardware trade secrets to advance OpenAI’s hardware development. The complaint describes a systematic effort across multiple levels of OpenAI’s organization to acquire, retain, and use Apple’s proprietary technologies, manufacturing processes, and supply chain innovations.
Who are the key individuals named in the lawsuit?
Tang Tan, OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer and former Apple VP of product design who spent 24 years at Apple, and Chang Liu, a former Apple senior systems electrical engineer who joined OpenAI in January 2026, are both named as defendants, along with IO Products — the Jony Ive-founded startup acquired by OpenAI in 2025.
How has Apple responded publicly to these allegations?
Apple stated it is taking all appropriate steps to protect its intellectual property and innovations, describing the situation as involving “significant evidence” of wrongful theft of secret and confidential information about unreleased technologies, processes, and products.
What is OpenAI’s response to Apple’s claims?
OpenAI said through spokesperson Drew Pusateri that it has no interest in other companies’ trade secrets and remains focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere. OpenAI has not addressed the specific allegations in detail.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
