OpenAI · Apple · xAI · ChatGPT · California · Decrypt
Apple Sues OpenAI, Argues Former Employees Stole Trade Secrets
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Apple has sued OpenAI and two former employees, accusing the ChatGPT maker of using stolen trade secrets for its consumer hardware efforts.
Key facts
- The lawsuit follows OpenAI’s $6.4 billion acquisition of io Products, the hardware startup founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive
- In 2024, Apple tapped OpenAI to bring ChatGPT to Siri as part of its Apple Intelligence initiative
- The complaint, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, names former Apple senior system electrical engineer Chang Liu and former iPhone and Apple Watch design
- According to the filing, OpenAI’s hardware division has hired more than 400 former Apple employees
Summary
Apple sued OpenAI and two former employees, alleging theft of hardware trade secrets. The complaint claims former Apple employees accessed confidential files, shared supplier information, and used internal information at OpenAI. The lawsuit follows OpenAI’s $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive’s hardware startup io Products. The complaint, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, names former Apple senior system electrical engineer Chang Liu and former iPhone and Apple Watch design executive Tang Yew Tan, along with OpenAI Foundation, OpenAI Group PBC, and io Products.