Apple (AAPL) sues OpenAI over stolen trade secrets related to hardware and security

Apple alleges that OpenAI used the company's intel to design AI devices.

Apple has filed a lawsuit against ChatGPT creator OpenAI, accusing the company of stealing trade secrets and using them to develop new products.

As reported by outlets like Wired, the lawsuit names Tang Tan, a former designer at Apple who spent 24 years at the company. Now the Chief Hardware Officer at OpenAI, Tan has been accused of using Apple secrets to develop unannounced AI hardware products. The lawsuit accuses Tan of encouraging ex-Apple staff to bring proprietary Apple technology and information with them.

“OpenAI’s nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets,” Apple’s statement reads.

The news comes as OpenAI is gearing up for an Initial Public Offering. Last year, OpenAI acquired io Products, the startup founded by longtime Apple designer Jonny Ive. Ive is named in the lawsuit against OpenAI, but he is not a defendant in the case, according to CNN.

Apple and OpenAI announced a partnership in 2024 to bring more AI features to Siri and other Apple products. OpenAI has yet to provide a statement on the lawsuit.

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