Apple has filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the artificial intelligence company of obtaining confidential product information through the recruitment of former Apple employees.
The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI, along with design firm io Products and two former Apple employees, engaged in a coordinated effort to acquire Apple’s proprietary product development information and trade secrets.
According to Apple, at least two long-serving employees who left the company to join OpenAI emailed themselves confidential internal documents before departing, giving the AI company access to sensitive product development material.
OpenAI denied the allegations, with spokesperson Drew Pusateri stating that the company has no interest in competitors’ trade secrets and remains focused on developing innovative AI technologies. Apple said its legal action is supported by significant evidence.
The case marks a dramatic deterioration in relations between the two companies, which had previously collaborated to integrate ChatGPT into Apple devices as part of Apple’s artificial intelligence strategy.
Earlier this year, Apple shifted more of its AI capabilities to Google’s Gemini platform, although OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly praised outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook following his announcement that he would step down.
Apple claims OpenAI pursued a deliberate strategy to obtain confidential information about its future products, manufacturing processes and business operations through former employees and recruitment activities.
The lawsuit also names io Products, the hardware startup founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive and acquired by OpenAI last year, together with former Apple executives Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, who now serves as OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer.
Apple alleges that the former employees had access to highly sensitive projects, trusted manufacturing partnerships, proprietary engineering methods and unreleased products, providing OpenAI with valuable insight into the company’s future hardware plans.
The lawsuit further claims that OpenAI interviewers encouraged prospective Apple recruits to bring physical Apple components to interviews for demonstration purposes, alleging the company sought additional confidential information during its hiring process.
Apple argues that OpenAI, io Products and the former employees acted together to exploit Apple’s confidential information as OpenAI expands into the consumer hardware market.
The legal action comes ahead of the expected launch of OpenAI’s first consumer hardware product, reportedly an AI-focused keyboard, as the company also prepares for a future public stock market listing.
