--- title: Apple sues OpenAI over alleged hardware trade secret... description: Apple has sued OpenAI in federal court, alleging that two former Apple employees — now at OpenAI — stole hardware trade secrets. Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sues-openai-over-alleged-hardware-trade-secret-theft-by-former-employees-fcehvfrsq twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Apple sues OpenAI over alleged hardware trade secret theft by former employees | daily.dev og:description: Apple has sued OpenAI in federal court, alleging that two former Apple employees — now at OpenAI — stole hardware trade secrets. Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sues-openai-over-alleged-hardware-trade-secret-theft-by-former-employees-fcehvfrsq og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/fCEhvfRsQ.png og:image:alt: Apple sues OpenAI over alleged hardware trade secret theft by former employees og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Apple sues OpenAI over alleged hardware trade secret theft by former employees **[Collections](https://daily.dev/sources/collections)** · 4 min read · 3 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Apple has sued OpenAI in federal court, alleging that two former Apple employees — now at OpenAI — stole hardware trade secrets. Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer and a 24-year Apple veteran, is accused of emailing himself supplier details, using confidential codenames in recruiting, and coaching new hires on how to evade Apple's exit procedures. Chang Liu, a former electrical engineer, allegedly exploited an authentication bug to download over a thousand pages of confidential engineering files after leaving Apple. Apple also claims OpenAI asked a manufacturing partner to apply a proprietary metal-finishing technique without authorization. The lawsuit comes as OpenAI pursues consumer hardware ambitions following its $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive's design firm. Apple is seeking an injunction, return of materials, and damages. The case puts strain on the existing Apple-OpenAI partnership that routes Siri and other Apple Intelligence requests to ChatGPT. ## Content Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that former Apple employees systematically stole confidential hardware information to benefit OpenAI's device ambitions. The 41-page complaint names two former Apple employees as central defendants: Tang Tan, a 24-year Apple veteran who became OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer, and Chang Liu, a former senior electrical engineer. ## What Apple alleges The accusations against Tan are extensive. Apple claims he used internal project codenames during OpenAI recruiting sessions, directed job candidates to bring physical Apple hardware components, CAD files, and prototypes to interviews for what the complaint describes as "show and tell" sessions, and distributed Apple's internal security departure protocols to new OpenAI hires — effectively coaching them on how to avoid triggering Apple's offboarding procedures. Apple also alleges Tan emailed himself supplier details and internal industry summaries before leaving. Liu's alleged conduct is different but arguably more technically damaging. According to Apple, Liu exploited a zero-day authentication vulnerability in Apple's internal network storage weeks after leaving the company for OpenAI. The bug let his former laptop connect to Apple's internal systems despite his departure. He allegedly downloaded over a thousand pages of confidential engineering files covering unreleased products, hardware specifications, and proprietary project data. Apple also claims Liu used a current Apple employee's work laptop to further access internal systems, and coached that employee on copying files while evading security detection. Apple has since patched the vulnerability and terminated the access. One of the more striking allegations involves a manufacturing partner. Apple claims OpenAI — through io Products, the Jony Ive design firm it acquired for $6.5 billion — asked a trusted Apple supplier to apply a proprietary metal-finishing technique. The supplier, believing Apple had approved the arrangement, performed the process. If accurate, this would have handed OpenAI a proven manufacturing method without the months of testing normally required to develop it independently. Apple notes that over 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, though the complaint acknowledges that employment history alone proves nothing. The lawsuit frames the documented incidents as likely the visible edge of a larger pattern, with discovery expected to reveal more. ## The context: a deteriorating relationship The lawsuit lands at an awkward moment. Apple and OpenAI have an existing commercial partnership — Apple Intelligence can route certain Siri, Writing Tools, and Visual Intelligence requests to ChatGPT across iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Vision Pro devices. That relationship now sits alongside active litigation. The timing also matters for OpenAI's hardware plans. Following the io acquisition, OpenAI is reportedly developing a screen-free smart speaker and, eventually, a smartphone intended to compete with the iPhone. Apple's suit directly targets the hardware program those former employees were hired to build. Apple says it sent a letter to OpenAI in February raising concerns about the alleged conduct. It received no response. ## What Apple is asking for Apple is seeking an injunction barring OpenAI from using its trade secrets, an order requiring the return or destruction of all confidential materials, and preservation of evidence. It also wants damages and, in some respects, product redesigns that remove anything derived from stolen information. ## OpenAI's response OpenAI called the complaint without merit. Its Director of Strategic Communications said the company has "no interest in other companies' trade secrets" and remains focused on building its own technology. Sam Altman was more pointed on X, saying he is "not afraid of Apple" but has "tremendous respect" for the company. ## What this means in practice Legal experts note Apple faces a real challenge in California. The state bars non-compete agreements and rejects the "inevitable disclosure" doctrine, which means Apple can't simply argue that employees with sensitive knowledge will inevitably use it — it has to prove they actually did. That's a higher bar. Still, the lawsuit creates immediate operational friction for OpenAI regardless of how it ultimately resolves. Legal reviews slow hiring, complicate the hardware program's timeline, and add another layer of regulatory risk to OpenAI's reported IPO plans — this while the company, valued at around $852 billion, is burning cash rapidly and already facing scrutiny from 42 state attorneys general. The case also echoes a nearly identical dispute playing out in the same federal district: OpenAI recently filed a motion asking a judge to order xAI to pay over $1 million in legal fees after xAI's own trade secrets lawsuit — which alleged OpenAI poached engineers and had them bring confidential information — was dismissed twice. Apple's complaint raises the same core legal question from the other side. --- Tags: [#apple](https://daily.dev/tags/apple), [#hardware](https://daily.dev/tags/hardware), [#openai](https://daily.dev/tags/openai) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sues-openai-over-alleged-hardware-trade-secret-theft-by-former-employees-fcehvfrsq) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Apple sues OpenAI over alleged hardware trade secret theft by former employees","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sues-openai-over-alleged-hardware-trade-secret-theft-by-former-employees-fcehvfrsq","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sues-openai-over-alleged-hardware-trade-secret-theft-by-former-employees-fcehvfrsq"},"datePublished":"2026-07-11T23:57:13.023Z","dateModified":"2026-07-17T17:48:48.723Z","description":"Apple has sued OpenAI in federal court, alleging that two former Apple employees — now at OpenAI — stole hardware trade secrets. 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