By Apple has sued OpenAI, accusing the company of systematically extracting trade secrets and confidential product information through current and former Apple employees to accelerate its push into consumer hardware. The 41-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, marks a dramatic turn for two companies that were, until recently, close partners on bringing ChatGPT into Apple’s operating systems.
The three people at the center of the case
The lawsuit centers on three individuals who moved from Apple to OpenAI:
- Tang Tan, OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer, spent roughly 24 years at Apple, rising to vice president overseeing Apple Watch and iPhone product design before leaving in 2024 to join Jony Ive’s hardware studio, io Products, which OpenAI later acquired.
- Chang Liu, a systems electrical engineer who spent over eight years on the iPhone team, left Apple for OpenAI in January 2026.
- Yu-Ting “Alyssa” Peng, another former Apple employee, joined OpenAI in April 2026.
Apple alleges the three took unreleased product designs, component details, and other confidential materials with them, feeding directly into OpenAI’s own AI hardware effort, a device the company is expected to launch next year.
Mining job candidates for Apple’s secrets
Apple says Tan used OpenAI’s own hiring process to dig for secrets. In one case, he reportedly asked a candidate about an unreleased Apple project. In another, a candidate had already started copying files from a confidential Apple program before their interview and Tan allegedly asked about that same project once they sat down. Apple also claims Tan told candidates to bring in real Apple hardware, like batteries, logic boards and system-in-package parts, for “show and tell,” and to prepare presentations based on their work at Apple
Coaching an exit strategy to dodge security checks
Apple’s complaint also alleges that OpenAI obtained an internal Apple document detailing employee offboarding and security procedures, then used it to help recruits time their departures to avoid scrutiny, advising them not to give the standard two weeks’ notice, avoid signing exit paperwork and remain silent about where they were headed next. Apple says it has since observed a pattern of departing employees skipping notice periods and ignoring its security team’s outreach.
Supplier relationships and a disputed manufacturing technique
Beyond personnel, Apple accuses OpenAI of leveraging insider knowledge to approach its manufacturing partners directly, including one that performs a proprietary metal-finishing process for Apple products. Apple alleges that OpenAI gained access by misleading supplier into believing it had Apple’s authorization. Apple also claims OpenAI used internal codenames to ask a battery and power-component supplier pointed questions aimed at advancing its own hardware plans.
Liu and Peng: laptops, a security loophole, and a “steady stream” of data
The most granular allegations involve Liu and Peng. Apple claims Liu failed to return his Apple-issued laptop after resigning and continued accessing Apple’s internal cloud storage for weeks afterward through what the company describes as a previously unknown authentication flaw, downloading files including detailed manufacturing and testing documentation for Apple’s logic boards. Apple further alleges that after joining OpenAI, Liu kept receiving project and vendor details from Peng while she was still employed at Apple and that he advised her on how to extract files without alerting Apple’s security team.
What Apple is asking the court for
Apple wants damages, to be determined at trial, along with an injunction barring OpenAI from using or disclosing any of its trade secrets, the return of any Apple material still in OpenAI’s possession, and an order preserving relevant evidence, emails, files, design documents and access logs for the discovery process. Discovery could ultimately give Apple visibility into OpenAI’s internal recruiting communications, hardware design records and supplier correspondence, depending on what the court permits.
OpenAI’s response
OpenAI’s initial statement, issued the day the suit was filed, was brief: the company said it has no interest in other companies’ trade secrets and remains focused on its own technology. Days later, following further questions, OpenAI went further, saying it is unaware of any evidence supporting the complaint and framing the dispute as one where people should be free to move between employers. Neither statement addresses the specific allegations, such as the offboarding document or Liu’s continued cloud access, in detail.
A relationship that soured and a company already under legal pressure
The lawsuit is a striking reversal for two companies that stood on stage together in 2024 to announce ChatGPT’s integration into iOS. That partnership has since cooled: Apple turned to Google’s Gemini models for its rebuilt Siri, while OpenAI’s 2025 acquisition of io Products signaled its own hardware ambitions, a device reportedly in development for release as early as next year. The case also adds to a growing list of legal fronts OpenAI is fighting simultaneously, including copyright suits from news publishers, a trade-secret dispute with Elon Musk’s xAI, and litigation over ChatGPT’s role in user harm, all arriving as the company prepares for what’s expected to be a closely watched IPO.
Conclusion
At its core, this isn’t just a dispute between two companies; it’s a test of how enforceable “confidentiality” really is once employees, code, and hardware start moving between Big Tech and the AI startups racing to out-build it. How the court treats Apple’s evidence could shape the ground rules for talent poaching across the entire AI hardware race.
