Apple is suing OpenAI for theft of trade secrets

Apple is suing OpenAI, accusing it of stealing trade secrets to develop its consumer hardware products. The legal action marks the start of a clash between two giants that have worked side by side over the past two years. “At every level, from technical staff to the chief hardware officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has misappropriated Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information,” Cupertino alleged in its lawsuit, naming Tang Tan, OpenAI’s head of hardware, who was previously Apple’s vice-president of product design.

According to Cupertino, Tang Tan asked Apple employees who were interviewing with OpenAI to bring along product “components” for their demonstration sessions. “OpenAI’s fledgling hardware division rests on an extremely precarious foundation, with its very core corrupted by the unlawful use of misappropriated trade secrets,” Apple emphasised, demanding that OpenAI immediately cease its improper practices and destroy all material obtained. Cupertino, which is seeking a jury trial in the case, also wants OpenAI to redesign its forthcoming products so that they do not incorporate any of its technology. 

The legal action marks a dramatic turning point in the history of the two companies, which have been collaborating since 2024, with ChatGPT integrated into the iPhone’s operating system. Over the past year, however, tensions between Apple and OpenAI have risen, particularly since Altman’s start-up joined forces with the creator of the iPhone to develop consumer devices. Io, the start-up founded by Sir Jony Ive, Apple’s former design guru, was in fact acquired in May last year by ChatGPT for $6.5 billion with the aim of ‘creating a family of products for the era of generative intelligence’. Ive is just one of over 400 former Apple employees now working at OpenAI. For Altman’s start-up, the lawsuit is a new headache ahead of its planned listing on Wall Street, expected later this year. Apple’s complaint comes on top of claims against Elon Musk’s start-up, which was defeated in court solely on technical grounds.