Apple Sues OpenAI Over Stolen Hardware Secrets
Get the Tech newsletter
Daily tech — startups, AI labs, chips, the launches that shape the next decade. Free.
- Apple sued OpenAI and IO Products, alleging a pattern of trade secret theft by former Apple employees now at OpenAI, including the unlawful acquisition of confidential hardware files and project data.
- OpenAI is accused of directing departing Apple staff to bypass security protocols, including using Line Messenger for covert communication and bringing CAD files and prototypes to job interviews.
- Tang Tan, OpenAI’s chief hardware officer and a former Apple executive, is alleged to have emailed Apple supplier information to himself before leaving and solicited confidential data during employee interviews.
- Chang Liu, another ex-Apple engineer, allegedly accessed Apple systems after his departure and downloaded dozens of confidential hardware documents, including unreleased product specs and engineering presentations.
- IO Products, Jony Ive’s hardware startup acquired by OpenAI in 2025, is named in the lawsuit as a recipient of stolen Apple trade secrets related to industrial design and supply chain processes.
- Apple claims OpenAI has targeted its partner network, having a key industrial design collaborator perform proprietary metal-finishing techniques for OpenAI’s benefit.
- Apple says it raised concerns with OpenAI in February but received no response, as the lawsuit characterizes OpenAI’s hardware foundation as 'rotten to its core' due to reliance on misappropriated secrets.
Why it matters: Apple stands to lose billions if its hardware IP is replicated, while OpenAI’s first hardware launch — expected next year — now faces legal and reputational risk over its legitimacy. The lawsuit challenges OpenAI’s ability to independently build consumer hardware, a shift from its software-AI roots.
