Apple sues OpenAI over alleged theft of trade secrets for its AI hardware

Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in a federal court in Northern California, accusing the artificial intelligence lab of trade secret theft. According to the complaint, OpenAI allegedly took Apple's intellectual property with the aim of developing its own consumer hardware, in direct competition with the iPhone maker's products.

The language of the lawsuit is blunt: Apple claims that "at every level, from members of its technical staff to its head of hardware, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple's trade secrets and confidential information."

The case marks a surprising twist in the relationship between the two companies, which in 2024 had announced a high-profile alliance to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone's operating system, including a visit by Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, to Apple's headquarters. However, the relationship cooled after OpenAI announced its entry into the hardware sector, following its $6.4 billion acquisition of IO Products, the startup founded by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive. In fact, the new version of Siri that Apple will launch this fall is no longer based on OpenAI's technology, but on Google's Gemini models.

Most of Apple's accusations center on former employees who have moved, or attempted to move, to OpenAI. The company points directly at Tang Tan, OpenAI's current head of hardware and a former Apple vice president, whom it names as a defendant. According to the complaint, Tan allegedly instructed candidates who were still working at Apple to share company secrets as part of the interview process, going so far as to ask them to bring "real parts" from Apple to "show and tell" sessions in which he and his team could extract more confidential information.

Apple also accuses OpenAI of having advised departing employees on how to evade internal security processes on their way out. Another former employee named, Chang Liu —also listed as a defendant— allegedly took an Apple laptop. In addition, the lawsuit contends that Apple believes OpenAI is asking hardware manufacturers to apply a metal-finishing technique invented by Apple, "leading the partner to believe they had Apple's permission to do so."

An Apple representative told CNBC: "Significant evidence has recently emerged suggesting that individuals employed by OpenAI misappropriated secret and confidential Apple information about our technologies, processes and unreleased products." For its part, an OpenAI representative responded: "We have no interest in the trade secrets of other companies. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people around the world." IO Products is also named as a defendant in the case.

OpenAI has not yet announced when or what hardware products it will launch, although Altman said in November that the company had already finished its first prototypes. Apple has not clarified whether this lawsuit will affect the current collaboration between the two companies, which includes the integration of ChatGPT within Apple Intelligence.

This new legal front adds to a series of legal troubles for OpenAI just as the company prepares for what is expected to be a historic IPO. Apple's lawsuit comes just two months after OpenAI won a high-profile trial against Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX. In that case, a federal jury found that Musk —a co-founder of OpenAI— had waited too long to sue the lab for allegedly breaching agreements to run it as a nonprofit organization; Musk has said he will appeal the ruling.

In this new lawsuit, Apple is seeking damages, injunctions and a court order requiring OpenAI to stop using its trade secrets.