Apple has filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI, two former Apple employees and AI hardware startup io Products, accusing them of orchestrating a scheme to steal confidential company information to accelerate OpenAI’s entry into the consumer hardware market.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday, alleges that OpenAI engaged in “a pattern of theft” by recruiting Apple employees with access to sensitive product development information and encouraging the misuse of proprietary company data.
According to Apple, at least two long-serving employees emailed confidential internal documents to themselves before leaving the company to join OpenAI.
The lawsuit names OpenAI, io Products, senior electrical engineer Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, Apple’s former Vice President of iPhone and Apple Watch Design, who is now OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer.
Apple claims the former employees exploited their access to unreleased products, proprietary manufacturing techniques, strategic partnerships and confidential development plans to benefit OpenAI’s hardware ambitions.
The company further alleges that OpenAI interviewers encouraged prospective Apple recruits to bring “actual parts” from Apple products to job interviews for what was described as “show and tell.”
Apple argues that the defendants acted together to obtain confidential information that could give OpenAI an unfair competitive advantage in developing consumer hardware.
Responding to the lawsuit, OpenAI rejected the allegations.
“We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets,” OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said.
He added that the company is reviewing Apple’s complaint and remains focused on “building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.”
An Apple spokesperson told the BBC that the legal action is supported by “significant evidence.”
The lawsuit marks a dramatic deterioration in relations between the two technology companies.
Apple previously integrated ChatGPT into some of its products as part of its artificial intelligence strategy before shifting more of its AI capabilities to Google’s Gemini platform earlier this year.
Even after Apple announced that Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook would step down later this year, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman publicly praised him, describing Cook as “a legend” and thanking him for his contributions to the technology industry.
The new lawsuit, however, accuses OpenAI of deliberately pursuing a strategy aimed at extracting Apple’s confidential information.
Apple alleges that OpenAI’s acquisition of io Products, the AI hardware startup founded by Jony Ive, former Apple design chief, forms part of a broader strategy to compete directly in the consumer devices market.
OpenAI is reportedly preparing to launch its first hardware product, an AI-focused keyboard, later this month as it expands beyond software into consumer electronics.
Apple argues that OpenAI’s hardware business has been built on improperly acquired confidential information.
The company said in its filing that OpenAI’s “misconduct is normalised and exemplified by leadership” and claimed its emerging hardware business is “rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.”
According to the lawsuit, Apple attempted to raise its concerns with OpenAI in February but received no meaningful response.
The technology giant is asking the court to immediately bar OpenAI from obtaining or using any confidential Apple information and is seeking unspecified monetary damages.
If successful, the case could become one of the most closely watched legal battles in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence industry, where competition for talent and intellectual property has intensified as companies race to develop next-generation AI technologies.
