Apple sues OpenAI for trade secret theft

Apple is suing OpenAI for trade secret theft, alleging the AI giant deliberately and systematically solicited and stole confidential information from the iPhone maker's current and former employees.

Why it matters: Apple has lost significant talent to OpenAI as the frontier lab prepares to unveil its first hardware device this year.

What they're saying: "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," Apple said in a statement.

• "We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere," an OpenAI spokesperson told Axios.

Between the lines: The lawsuit alleges that Chang Liu, a former senior electrical engineer at Apple kept a work-issued Apple laptop and discovered a bug that allowed him to access Apple's cloud file storage after leaving and while employed by OpenAI.

• Liu celebrated the exploit, according to the filing. "LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny," he said in a message to a former colleague who was still employed by Apple.
• The lawsuit claims that while Liu was developing hardware for OpenAI, he accessed and downloaded dozens of confidential files from Apple's network, many labeled as confidential.

Driving the news: Tang Tan — also mentioned in the complaint — is an Apple veteran who worked on iPhone and Apple Watch and now serves as OpenAI's chief hardware officer.

• Tang co-founded io Products as the dedicated hardware vehicle for OpenAI.
• The lawsuit accuses Tan of using Apple's internal codenames to elicit even more information from potential OpenAI job candidates who currently work at Apple.
• Tang told them to bring "actual parts" (batteries, logic boards, SIPs) for "show and tell." He allegedly circulated a "Need to Know" Apple offboarding doc that he either retained or obtained to teach new OpenAI hires to dodge Apple's exit security checks, according to the filing.

The intrigue: Jony Ive, Apple's former chief design officer who began collaborating with OpenAI in 2023, was not officially named in the suit.

• Ive co-founded io Products with Tan and others. In May 2025, OpenAI announced its acquisition of io.
• Ive now leads OpenAI's device work.

Zoom out: Apple also accuses OpenAI of approaching Apples trusted partners with confidential Apple information as the AI firm developed its hardware device.

• The filing alleges that OpenAI had one partner show off a trade secret metal-finishing technique, "misleading the partner to believe they had Apple's permission to do so."

By the numbers: Apple says over 400 former employees are now employed by OpenAI.

The big picture: Apple currently has a partnership to integrate ChatGPT into Apple's products.

• OpenAI is also rumored to be launching a new hardware device soon. At Davos in January, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane told Axios the device would come in the first half of 2026.

Catch up quick: OpenAI has been preparing legal action against Apple over the companies' partnership, Bloomberg reported earlier this year.

• The AI firm reportedly considered sending Apple a notice claiming breach of contract, according to the New York Times.

The bottom line: Apple seeks to stop defendants from possessing, using or disclosing Apple trade secrets, the preservation and return of Apple materials and damages for loss caused by trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract.