Apple files lawsuit against OpenAI over trade secret theft allegations

On Friday, Apple filed a 41-page lawsuit against OpenAI in a federal court in San Jose, California, alleging a systematic effort to misappropriate trade secrets. Apple claims that OpenAI aggressively recruited over 400 former employees to obtain confidential technical designs and hardware information. The lawsuit specifically names Tang Tan, a former Apple product design executive now leading hardware at OpenAI, and former engineer Chang Liu, who allegedly downloaded confidential files before departing in January. Apple asserts that these actions were coordinated to support OpenAI's efforts to develop its own consumer hardware devices. This legal action follows the deterioration of the companies' partnership, which previously involved integrating ChatGPT into Apple products in 2024. Bloomberg reported in May that OpenAI had also considered legal action against Apple, claiming the tech giant did not sufficiently promote the ChatGPT integration. The litigation could significantly complicate OpenAI's plans for an anticipated initial public offering.