Apple Sues OpenAI Over Alleged Trade Secret Scheme
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- Apple filed a 41-page lawsuit accusing OpenAI of orchestrating a scheme with three named former employees — 24-year veteran Tang Tan (now OpenAI's chief hardware officer via the io/Jony Ive acquisition), iPhone systems electrical engineer Chang Liu (joined OpenAI January 2026), and Yu-Ting "Alyssa" Peng (joined April 2026) — to steal trade secrets for OpenAI's first AI device, due next year.
- Chang Liu allegedly kept an Apple-owned computer, then exploited an authentication vulnerability to access Apple's cloud-based network storage weeks after his January 2026 departure; the filing quotes him texting Peng "LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny" before downloading dozens of confidential files, including documents on logic board manufacturing and testing.
- Yu-Ting Peng allegedly kept Liu informed of Apple projects, engineering details, and vendor relationships while still employed; Liu allegedly directed her on how to "avoid trouble with the security team" and pointed her to specific Apple project folders containing proprietary engineering data before she departed in April 2026.
- Tang Tan allegedly asked Apple job interviewees to bring hardware components — batteries, SiP modules, main logic boards, and shields — for "show and tell" sessions, and requested "Technical Deep Dive" presentations with slides revealing confidential Apple information, according to messages on an Apple-issued work device.
- OpenAI allegedly "coached" departing Apple employees on bypassing exit security checks, telling them not to disclose their new employer, not to "sign anything at the exit interview," and how to avoid a "dreaded walk out" that triggers immediate removal and two-week system lockout.
- Apple accuses OpenAI of approaching its "trusted partners" — including one performing a proprietary, multi-step metal-finishing technique — under the false pretense that OpenAI had Apple's permission, and of using Apple's internal codenames to query at least one other supplier about power and battery components.
- OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri told The Verge the company has "no interest in other companies' trade secrets," without addressing any specific allegation in the 41-page filing.
Why it matters: The lawsuit targets the heart of OpenAI's hardware push: its first AI device, due next year, with Apple's complaint alleging that OpenAI's own chief hardware officer Tan personally solicited confidential Apple information from job candidates during interviews. OpenAI flatly denied the allegations through spokesperson Drew Pusateri, who told The Verge the company has 'no interest in other companies' trade secrets.'
