Apple Files 40-Page Lawsuit Against OpenAI Over Alleged Hardware Theft

SAN FRANCISCO — In a dramatic fracture of Silicon Valley’s most high-profile artificial intelligence alliance, Apple Inc. has filed a sweeping, 40-page federal lawsuit against OpenAI. The complaint, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses the ChatGPT creator of orchestrating a systematic campaign to plunder Apple’s proprietary hardware secrets to jumpstart its own upcoming consumer electronics business.

The legal filing marks an astonishing turn of events for two giants that paired up to integrate OpenAI’s models into Apple Intelligence. According to Apple’s lawyers, OpenAI has turned from a software partner into a aggressive hardware predator, allegedly poaching more than 400 former Apple employees and coaching them to siphon off confidential physical designs, component specifications, and unreleased product roadmaps.

The 'Show and Tell' Recruitment Scheme

At the heart of the 40-page complaint are two central figures: Tang Tan, OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer and a former Apple Vice President of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, and Chang Liu, a former senior systems electrical engineer at Apple.

Apple alleges that Tan, a 24-year Apple veteran who left to lead OpenAI's hardware efforts, weaponized his knowledge of internal operations during recruitment. The lawsuit claims Tan explicitly instructed Apple job candidates to bring "actual parts"—including proprietary batteries, circuit boards, and system-in-package modules—directly to OpenAI interviews for what were described as "show and tell" sessions. In one instance cited in the filing, a candidate reportedly admitted they "didn't even know we could take those from the office".

Furthermore, the suit alleges that OpenAI actively coached departing Apple staff on how to evade company security protocols, erase digital footprints, and transfer vendor data before officially changing sides.

Exploiting Backdoors and Tricking Suppliers

The accusations against engineer Chang Liu read like a corporate espionage thriller. Apple alleges that upon leaving for OpenAI, Liu failed to return a company-issued laptop. He then allegedly exploited a previously unknown authentication bug to access Apple's internal cloud networks while already employed by OpenAI.

According to the text log included in the suit, Liu messaged another Apple employee, joking, "LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny." Through this backdoor, Liu allegedly downloaded dozens of highly sensitive engineering presentations, manufacturing blueprints, and technical specifications for unreleased Apple products.

The deception allegedly extended directly into Apple's closely guarded supply chain. The lawsuit details an incident where OpenAI employees allegedly approached an established Apple supplier and tricked them into performing a proprietary, secret metal-finishing technique on an OpenAI prototype by falsely claiming they had Apple’s explicit authorization to use the process.

The Fight for the Post-iPhone Era

The sudden legal assault underscores how seriously Apple views OpenAI's hardware ambitions. OpenAI has spent the last year quietly assembling a consumer electronics division, fueled by its multi-billion-dollar acquisition of io Products—a design firm co-founded by legendary former Apple design chief Jony Ive. While Ive himself is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, his venture is.

With OpenAI planning to launch its first dedicated AI hardware device, the startup threatens to bypass the traditional smartphone app ecosystem entirely. Apple’s complaint seeks to cut this threat off at the roots.

"OpenAI’s nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets," Apple stated aggressively in the filing.

Apple claims it attempted to settle the matter quietly in February by presenting its initial findings to OpenAI, but the AI startup ignored the inquiries, leaving Apple "no choice" but to go public with the litigation.

OpenAI has firmly pushed back against the allegations. In an official statement, OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri stated, "We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere."

Apple is seeking substantial financial damages, a jury trial, and a strict court injunction that would bar OpenAI from using any of the disputed technical data. Legal experts note that if the court grants the injunction, it could freeze OpenAI’s hardware pipeline indefinitely, forcing the company to completely re-engineer its upcoming devices from scratch.