Apple Sues OpenAI Over Stolen Trade Secrets
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- Apple filed suit against OpenAI on July 10, 2026, in federal court in Northern California, alleging trade secret theft and saying OpenAI never responded to its prior concerns.
- The lawsuit names Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer and former Apple VP, alleging he directed Apple staffers interviewing at OpenAI to share Apple secrets.
- Apple alleges the stolen trade secrets are being used to build OpenAI's upcoming AI gadgets and device suite.
- The suit targets OpenAI and two former Apple employees, with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman characterizing it as a "coordinating trade secret theft campaign" to build AI devices.
- The Times frames the dispute as hinging on Jony Ive's partnership with OpenAI to build what it calls an "iPhone killer" — the consumer device at the center of Apple's complaint.
Why it matters: Apple is suing not just OpenAI but a former VP now leading its hardware effort, turning a behind-the-scenes hiring pipeline into a federal courtroom fight over OpenAI's AI-device ambitions. With Reuters reporting two former employees as co-defendants and Apple alleging OpenAI ignored prior concerns, the case puts OpenAI's device roadmap under legal scrutiny at the moment both firms are racing to ship consumer AI hardware.
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