Apple sues OpenAI for trade secret theft and employee poaching

Published Jul 23, 10:37 AM UTC

Apple has filed a major lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the AI startup of stealing trade secrets and poaching employees to develop hardware devices that could rival the iPhone. The lawsuit specifically names OpenAI's head of hardware, Tang Yew Tan, a former Apple vice president, alleging he took confidential supplier information and encouraged other Apple employees to bring unreleased product samples to job interviews. Apple claims over 400 former employees now work at OpenAI, including many senior staff. The legal action follows OpenAI's $6.4 billion acquisition of a hardware startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, signaling OpenAI's intent to compete directly with Apple's iPhone. OpenAI denies the allegations, stating it has no interest in other companies' trade secrets. Apple is seeking damages and a court order to prevent OpenAI from using its proprietary information. The case highlights escalating tensions between the two tech giants, who had previously partnered on integrating ChatGPT into Apple's Siri.