Apple sued OpenAI and two former employees in California federal court on Friday, alleging they stole the iPhone maker's trade secrets to help build hardware for ChatGPT. The complaint claims a coordinated effort to obtain Apple's confidential information about product designs, manufacturing processes and supply chain strategies.

The lawsuit names Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer at Apple, and Tang Yew Tan, a former vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch. Both now work at OpenAI. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and neither defendant responded either.

According to Apple's filing, Liu failed to return a company-issued work laptop and later used an authentication bug to access Apple's internal network, downloading "dozens of Apple's confidential hardware-related files". Apple also alleged that Tan "methodically" used Apple's confidential information by emailing himself details about Apple suppliers and internal industry summaries before leaving the company.

Apple claimed that Tan encouraged Apple employees to bring parts from the company to job interviews at OpenAI for "show and tell" sessions. In one instance, an OpenAI job candidate allegedly said he "didn't even know we could take those from the office".

The iPhone maker noted that more than 400 former Apple employees now work for OpenAI. "That OpenAI now employs people who were once entrusted with Apple's trade secrets does not entitle OpenAI to use that information to jumpstart its hardware efforts," Apple wrote in its complaint.

Apple also alleged that OpenAI employees sought confidential information from Apple's suppliers. One supplier reportedly used a secret metal finishing technique for OpenAI, believing the AI company had Apple's permission.

OpenAI has not disclosed exactly what device it is building, but has described it as a new way to interact with AI beyond "traditional products and interfaces". The company bought hardware startup io Products, founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive, for $6.5 billion last year. Ive is not named in the lawsuit.

Apple said it contacted OpenAI in February with concerns about its confidential information but received no reply. The two companies have had a public partnership since 2024, when Apple integrated ChatGPT into its devices, allowing users to access the chatbot through Siri.

Source: Al Jazeera