Apple accuses OpenAI of trade secret theft in new lawsuit

Apple filed suit against OpenAI on Thursday, claiming the AI firm benefited from stolen proprietary information. The company maintains that several ex-staffers improperly took confidential details targeting its unreleased technologies, processes, and products.

“This case is about Apple’s former employees stealing Apple’s trade secrets for the benefit of OpenAI. Apple brings this suit to put a stop to it,” the lawsuit says.

An Apple spokesperson told 9to5Mac the company takes protection of its innovations seriously. “Recently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Apples 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.”

The complaint identifies former Apple executives Chang Liu and Tang Tan among the defendants. Tan previously held the role of vice president of product design, overseeing iPhone and Apple Watch efforts, and left the Cupertino firm in February 2024 to collaborate with Jony Ive. Liu spent eight years at Apple as a senior systems electrical engineer before moving to OpenAI in January 2026.

The filing also lists OpenAI itself and io Products as defendants. Ive, Apple’s former chief design officer, now directs OpenAI’s hardware initiatives. The ChatGPT maker purchased his startup io through a reported $6.5 billion transaction last year, absorbing more than 50 engineers, developers, and additional personnel. OpenAI’s initial announcement highlighted that Ive had created io alongside Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tan.

Hankey had managed Apple’s design group for several years following Ive’s exit and left the company herself in 2022 before rejoining him at io. Cannon had earlier worked at Apple as well. None of those three appears by name in the initial court papers.

According to the suit, Apple first contacted OpenAI about the matter in February and requested an internal probe, but received no reply. The company describes the alleged behavior outlined in the filing as reportedly only the start of broader issues.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the complaint states that Tan drew on inside knowledge of Apple’s secret initiatives while interviewing prospective hires. The former design leader allegedly instructed candidates who remained at Apple to present physical hardware parts and samples during these discussions.

One applicant reportedly began capturing screenshots and downloading materials tied to a highly sensitive Apple effort mere hours before meeting with Tan, who then pressed for further details on that exact initiative once the session began. The lawsuit claims this tactic formed a repeated approach.

Tan is also accused of sharing an internal “Need to Know” document—outlining Apple’s offboarding security measures—with fresh OpenAI recruits prior to their resignations. Investigators at Apple allegedly uncovered a consistent pattern among departing staff heading to OpenAI of bypassing safeguards designed to shield confidential data.

Separately, the suit maintains that Liu took advantage of a security vulnerability to retrieve restricted engineering documents even after his exit. The former engineer purportedly obtained a collection exceeding one thousand pages that covered projects from his Apple tenure, including intricate manufacturing specifications for the multilayer circuit boards inside the company’s devices.

Liu further allegedly advised another Apple staffer he was recruiting to OpenAI on specific proprietary documents to review in advance.