Apple Sues OpenAI Over Alleged Trade-Secret Theft by Former Employee

Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on Friday alleging theft of trade secrets, Business Insider reported. The complaint focuses on former Apple employee Chang Liu, who joined OpenAI in January. Apple said Liu failed to return a company laptop and later accessed internal systems due to an authentication bug, downloading dozens of confidential engineering files on unreleased products, technical specifications, presentations, and manufacturing processes.

Apple also accused OpenAI of using job interviews to gather information. Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan, a former Apple vice president who spent 24 years at the company, asked candidates to bring physical components for show and tell sessions, the complaint stated. OpenAI employees also requested prototypes and vendor details during interviews.

One then-Apple employee screenshotted and downloaded files from a highly confidential project, after which Tan asked about the project in an interview, according to the filing. Apple said it raised concerns with OpenAI earlier this year and asked the company to investigate whether confidential information had entered its business.

OpenAI did not respond, prompting Apple to continue its investigation.

Apple is seeking damages in an amount to be determined at trial and court orders preventing OpenAI and the individual defendants from possessing or using the trade secrets. The suit follows Apple's 2024 integration of ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence.