Apple Sues OpenAI Over Trade Secrets as the AI Hardware Race Turns Hostile
Apple accuses OpenAI of systematically stealing hardware secrets — from job interviews used as intelligence gathering to a stolen laptop. Two years ago, the companies were partners.
Apple has sued OpenAI in federal court in Northern California, accusing the ChatGPT maker of stealing trade secrets to build its upcoming AI gadgets. The complaint doesn’t describe a few bad apples, so to speak — it alleges a scheme running “at every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer.”
The details read like a corporate thriller. Apple says OpenAI’s hardware chief Tang Tan — himself a former Apple vice president — directed Apple employees interviewing at OpenAI to share confidential information as part of the hiring process, effectively turning job interviews into intelligence gathering. The company also claims OpenAI coached departing employees on how to slip past Apple’s security checks, and that one former employee, Chang Liu, walked out with an Apple laptop. Reportedly, more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI. OpenAI’s response was short: “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets.”
What makes this remarkable is how quickly the relationship flipped. In 2024, Apple and OpenAI struck a high-profile partnership that put ChatGPT inside the iPhone’s operating system. The chill set in when OpenAI bought IO Products — the hardware startup founded by legendary former Apple designer Jony Ive — for $6.4 billion and made clear it wanted to build consumer devices of its own. A company that once supplied Apple’s phones with AI is now trying to build the thing that might replace them.
What’s behind this? Trade secret lawsuits between tech giants usually follow talent. When hundreds of engineers move from one company to another, they carry knowledge in their heads — and the legal line between general expertise (allowed) and confidential specifics (not allowed) gets blurry fast. Apple filing now, just as OpenAI’s first devices are reportedly taking shape, suggests it wants to slow that hardware push down, or at least make it expensive. A fair caveat: these are allegations, not findings. Courts move slowly, cases like this often end in settlements, and OpenAI denies everything.
What this means for you: Nothing changes on your iPhone today — ChatGPT integration keeps working, and neither company has said otherwise. The bigger signal is about what’s coming: OpenAI is serious enough about AI hardware that Apple considers it a real threat, which tells you the next round of competition won’t just be about chatbots, but about the devices you carry. If OpenAI’s gadgets ship, they’ll arrive with a lawsuit attached — worth remembering when the marketing kicks in.
Sources
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/10/apple-openai-lawsuit-trade-secrets.html
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