Apple sues OpenAI: Industrial espionage and confidential data

The relationship between two giants of the tech world, Apple and OpenAI, has intensified. The iPhone manufacturer has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing OpenAI, a leader in AI, of stealing trade secrets and breaching contractual obligations. At the center of this conflict is the illegal appropriation of confidential information by former high-ranking Apple officials. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports .

According to Apple's lawsuit, OpenAI leadership, specifically Tang Tan, who currently serves as Chief Hardware Officer at the company, directly led the theft process. Tan worked at Apple for 24 years, rising to the position of Vice President of iPhone and Apple Watch design. After joining OpenAI, he is accused of using codenames for Apple's unannounced projects while recruiting new employees.

Poaching and confidential hardware tools

Court documents state that Tang Tan asked job applicants to bring components of Apple devices to interviews and instructed departing employees on how to bypass the company's security systems. It is emphasized that such actions caused intellectual property of strategic importance to Apple to fall into the hands of a competitor.

The lawsuit also mentions former Apple engineer Chang Liu. After moving to OpenAI, he failed to return his assigned work laptop and used it to download confidential technical documents. These documents included Apple's unreleased technologies, engineering presentations, and project specifications.

New competition in the smartphone market

This conflict arises at a time when OpenAI has begun developing its first hardware product. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, OpenAI plans to create a revolutionary smartphone that relies on AI agents instead of traditional apps. If this happens, OpenAI could become a direct competitor to the iPhone.

What makes the situation even more interesting is that last year, OpenAI acquired "io," a startup founded by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive, for $6.5 billion. Although Jony Ive is not personally named as a defendant, his startup is mentioned in court documents. This indicates how serious OpenAI's hardware ambitions are.

According to Apple representatives, they sent a letter to OpenAI leadership in February of this year expressing their concerns, but received no response. According to ixbt.com, this lawsuit is expected to have a serious impact not only on the relationship between the two companies but also on talent mobility and corporate security standards across Silicon Valley.