Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, accusing it of obtaining Apple’s trade secrets as it develops its own hardware.
The lawsuit
The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges trade secret theft and breach of contract. Apple asks the court to stop OpenAI from using or disclosing its confidential information, to order the return of any materials and to require evidence to be preserved. Apple said it had written to OpenAI in February and received no reply.
The allegations
According to the complaint:
- OpenAI’s chief hardware officer, Tang Tan, a former Apple executive who spent 24 years at the company, used Apple project code names when recruiting, asked candidates to bring Apple components to interviews and coached departing employees on avoiding Apple’s security controls.
- A former Apple engineer allegedly kept a company laptop after leaving, downloaded confidential technical documents and shared information with other applicants.
- OpenAI and its partners allegedly used confidential Apple information in developing hardware, including a metal finishing technique.
OpenAI’s response
OpenAI said it had no interest in other companies’ trade secrets and that it was focused on building innovative technology.
The device
OpenAI has been working on its first hardware product since buying io, the device start-up co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, in a deal worth around $6.5 billion. Details have not been officially confirmed, but analysts have speculated that it could be a phone-like device built around AI agents rather than apps — a potential rival to the iPhone. Ive himself is not named in the lawsuit.
Why it matters
The case reflects the intense competition for talent in the technology industry, as AI companies move into hardware and recruit engineers and designers from established players. For Apple, the iPhone remains its most important product, and any device that could change how people use their phones is a strategic threat.
What happens next
Trade secret cases can take months or years to resolve. If the court grants Apple’s requests, OpenAI could be forced to change parts of its development process, which could affect the timing of its device. For now, the allegations have not been proven and will be tested in court.
