Overview
- Apple filed a 41‑page federal complaint on Friday, July 10, accusing OpenAI, io Products and two former Apple employees of a coordinated effort to obtain its confidential hardware information.
- The complaint alleges engineer Chang Liu kept a company laptop, exploited an authentication bug after leaving Apple, and downloaded dozens of confidential hardware files while working at OpenAI.
- Apple says hardware chief Tang Yew Tan used recruiting and interview tactics that solicited actual Apple parts for ‘show and tell’ sessions and circulated guidance to evade Apple’s exit security checks.
- The suit alleges OpenAI or its affiliates sought supplier know‑how, including a proprietary metal‑finishing technique, and seeks injunctions, preservation and return of materials, and monetary damages while OpenAI has denied interest in other companies’ trade secrets.
- The case follows a 2024 integration partnership, OpenAI’s 2025 purchase of Jony Ive’s io Products, and hires of hundreds of former Apple staffers, and it could slow OpenAI’s hardware timeline and add legal scrutiny ahead of its wider business plans.