OpenAI · Apple · Sam Altman · ChatGPT · Fortune Technology
The 41-page lawsuit Apple filed against OpenAI for allegedly stealing trade secrets is a good read
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source + 4 references discovered via search. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
The suit alleges nothing short of a wide-scale corporate espionage campaign carried out by ex-Apple employees who joined OpenAI, according to the filing.
Key facts
- Chang Liu worked at Apple for eight years as a senior system electrical engineer, and joined OpenAI’s San Francisco office in January 2026
- OpenAI is working on an AI-powered device, about which the company has said almost nothing—besides CEO Sam Altman calling an early prototype “the coolest piece that the world will have ever seen
- In March 2024 he left, and according to his LinkedIn he went to work a nondescript hardware startup, operating in stealth mode
- The most famous ex-Apple employee now at OpenAI, Jony Ive, is not named in the case, though his involvement is implied as the co-founder of io, an AI hardware startup OpenAI purchased in 2025
Summary
The 41-page lawsuit Apple filed against OpenAI for allegedly stealing trade secrets is a good read. The case centers on two lesser-known OpenAI employees: Tang Yew Tan and Chang Liu. The most famous ex-Apple employee now at OpenAI, Jony Ive, is not named in the case, though his involvement is implied as the co-founder of io, an AI hardware startup OpenAI purchased in 2025 and that Apple is now suing as part of the case. OpenAI tells Fortune it has “no interest in other companies’ trade secrets,” and that it is still reviewing the lawsuit, so they don’t yet have its side of the story. OpenAI is working on an AI-powered device, about which the company has said almost nothing—besides CEO Sam Altman calling an early prototype “the coolest piece that the world will have ever seen,” in May 2025.