Apple has filed criminal and civil lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging the AI company deliberately solicited and stole confidential information from current and former Apple employees related to unreleased technologies, processes and products.
Why it matters
Apple says it has lost a significant number of employees to OpenAI while the lab prepares to introduce its first hardware device this year. The suit seeks to prevent defendants from possessing, using, or disclosing Apple trade secrets, to preserve and return Apple materials, and to recover damages for alleged losses.
Apple’s statement
In a statement, Apple 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.”
Allegations and named individuals
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Chang Liu: The complaint alleges that Chang Liu, a former senior electrical engineer at Apple, kept a work-issued Apple laptop after leaving the company and discovered a bug that allowed him to access Apple’s cloud file storage while employed by OpenAI. According to the filing, Liu celebrated the exploit, writing to a former colleague who still worked at Apple, “LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny.” The lawsuit claims Liu accessed and downloaded dozens of confidential files from Apple’s network while developing hardware for OpenAI, many of them labeled confidential.
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Tang Tan: The complaint also names Tang Tan, an Apple veteran who worked on the iPhone and Apple Watch and now serves as OpenAI’s chief hardware officer. Tang is said to have co-founded io Products as OpenAI’s dedicated hardware vehicle. The suit alleges that Tang used Apple internal codenames to elicit information from potential OpenAI hires who were still working at Apple, instructed them to bring “actual parts” (batteries, logic boards, SIPs) for demonstrations, and circulated an Apple “Need to Know” offboarding document that he either retained or obtained to teach new OpenAI employees how to evade Apple’s exit security checks.
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Jony Ive: Apple’s former chief design officer Jony Ive, who began collaborating with OpenAI in 2023 and co-founded io Products with Tang and others, is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. OpenAI announced its acquisition of io in May 2025. Ive now leads OpenAI’s device work.
Other allegations: partners and trade-secret techniques
Apple also accuses OpenAI of approaching trusted Apple partners with confidential Apple information during the development of its hardware device. The filing alleges that OpenAI had one partner demonstrate a trade-secret metal-finishing technique after misleading the partner into believing Apple had granted permission to do so.
Numbers and timeline
- Apple says over 400 former employees are now employed by OpenAI.
- OpenAI announced its acquisition of io Products in May 2025.
- At Davos in January, OpenAI said the device would arrive in the first half of 2026.
Remedies sought and current status
Apple is asking the court to bar the defendants from possessing, using, or disclosing Apple trade secrets, to preserve and return Apple materials, and to award damages for trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract. The lawsuit is ongoing and the story is developing.
Background
Earlier this year Bloomberg reported that OpenAI had been preparing legal action against Apple over the companies’ partnership; other reports said OpenAI considered sending Apple a breach-of-contract notice. The current filing is Apple’s formal legal action alleging theft of trade secrets.
