Apple Sues OpenAI Over Trade Secret Theft, Alleging Coordinated Employee Poaching

Apple filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI on July 10, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging the company orchestrated a coordinated campaign to poach more than 400 former Apple employees and extract confidential information about unreleased hardware products.

The complaint names OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan, a former Apple vice president of product design, as the central figure in the alleged misconduct. Apple claims Tan and his team encouraged job candidates still employed by Apple to bring actual hardware components to interviews to divulge confidential information, a practice the lawsuit calls "show and tell" interviews.

Apple also alleges that former senior electrical engineer Chang Liu used an authentication bug to breach Apple's internal network after leaving the company, downloading dozens of confidential hardware-related files and sharing them with other Apple employees who were applying for roles at OpenAI.

The lawsuit names io Products, a hardware startup acquired by OpenAI in 2025 for $6.4 billion, as a co-defendant. Apple says it sent a letter to OpenAI in February 2026 raising these concerns but received no response.

OpenAI denied the allegations. A company spokesperson said, "We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere."

The lawsuit marks a significant escalation in tensions between the two companies, which previously maintained a partnership to integrate ChatGPT into Apple's operating systems. Relations reportedly deteriorated when OpenAI expanded into consumer hardware, a move Apple views as a direct competitive threat.

Apple is seeking damages and a court order to prevent OpenAI from possessing, using, or disclosing its trade secrets. Legal analysts say the case could take years to resolve and may reshape how Silicon Valley companies handle employee departures.