Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the artificial intelligence company of orchestrating a coordinated effort to obtain confidential information related to its unreleased AI hardware products through current and former Apple employees.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that OpenAI encouraged employees leaving Apple to share engineering drawings, technical specifications, product designs and other proprietary information to speed up development of its own AI hardware.
Apple has named Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer and a former Apple vice-president who led the development of products including the iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods, as one of the defendants. The complaint also names former Apple hardware engineer Chang Liu, alleging he downloaded confidential files containing unreleased product information before joining OpenAI.
According to Apple, more than 400 former employees have joined OpenAI in recent years. The company alleges that some departing staff were coached on avoiding immediate suspension of system access during their notice period, enabling continued access to confidential internal information.
The iPhone maker has sought a jury trial and asked the court to order OpenAI to stop using any allegedly misappropriated information, destroy confidential materials in its possession and redesign any hardware products that may incorporate Apple's proprietary technology.
Also read: Apple enters into $30-bn chip partnership with Broadcom
OpenAI has rejected the allegations.
"We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets," an OpenAI spokesperson said, adding that the company remains focused on developing innovative technologies.
The legal battle marks a sharp escalation in tensions between the two companies despite their ongoing collaboration. OpenAI's ChatGPT technology currently powers several Apple Intelligence features, including Siri integration and other AI-powered tools across Apple devices.
The lawsuit comes amid intensifying competition among technology companies to develop the next generation of AI hardware, including smart glasses, wearable devices and AI-native consumer products that could reshape the future of personal computing.
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