Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of stealing proprietary hardware designs and trade secrets to develop its own upcoming line of AI devices. The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday in the District Court of Northern California, alleges OpenAI of trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract.
Recall last year, OpenAI acquired io Products, a design firm founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, to help build physical devices targeted at bringing smartphone users into the AI era. However, Apple claims that OpenAI’s hardware agenda has been fueled by a mission to poach top-tier engineering talent and systematically siphon off confidential Apple files.
According to the court filing, Liu, a former Apple engineer who joined OpenAI in January 2026, left Apple without completing his exit interviews or signing confidentiality reminders. Apple alleges he kept a work-issued laptop and downloaded dozens of confidential hardware-related files, including detailed specifications, engineering presentations, and proprietary data for unreleased Apple products.
Apple also claims that Tan, who led product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, used his insider knowledge of Apple’s supply chain to recruit other engineers for OpenAI, allegedly instructing candidates to bring physical Apple parts to their interviews and coaching them on how to leave the company undetected. According to Apple, this recruiting strategy has successfully poached at least ten senior engineers directly from its hardware teams.
“At Apple, our teams are constantly developing breakthrough technologies to create the best products and services in the world, and protecting their work and intellectual property is something we take very seriously” – Apple
Meanwhile, OpenAI has responded by denying the allegations raised against its company:
“We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere” – Drew Pusateri, OpenAI’s spokesperson
This lawsuit might complicate OpenAI’s target to launch its new hardware devices later this year.
