Apple's 41-page trade-secret complaint against OpenAI, filed Friday, alleges that more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI and that the AI company systematically extracted confidential hardware information from a subset of them. The suit names OpenAI, its io subsidiary, and three individuals tied to OpenAI's forthcoming hardware device, expected next year. Apple says it first raised concerns with OpenAI in February 2026 and received no response before going to court.
The central figures are Tang Tan, a 24-year Apple veteran who left in 2024 to join Jony Ive's io and is now OpenAI's chief hardware officer; Chang Liu, an eight-year Apple electrical engineer who joined OpenAI in January 2026; and Yu-Ting 'Alyssa' Peng, who moved to OpenAI in April 2026. OpenAI acquired io last year for $6.5 billion, and Apple now names io as a defendant alongside OpenAI itself.
Apple's most concrete claim concerns Liu. After announcing his departure, Liu allegedly failed to return at least one Apple-issued computer, then exploited an authentication vulnerability to reach Apple's cloud storage weeks after leaving. Apple says he downloaded dozens of confidential files, including technical specifications, unreleased product details, and an engineering presentation on the manufacturing and testing of Apple's main logic boards.
Key facts
- 01Apple's 41-page complaint, filed Friday, alleges over 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.
- 02OpenAI chief hardware officer Tang Tan spent 24 years at Apple, most recently as VP of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch.
- 03OpenAI acquired Jony Ive's hardware company io last year for $6.5 billion; io is a named defendant.
- 04Apple alleges former engineer Chang Liu downloaded dozens of confidential files after leaving in January 2026 via an authentication vulnerability.
- 05Apple says it first contacted OpenAI in February 2026 and received no response before filing suit.
The complaint quotes messages Apple recovered from Peng's work laptop. Liu allegedly wrote to Peng after finding the storage access, and Peng replied 'I'm ready.' Hours after leaving Apple, Liu allegedly texted, 'I still have another computer.' Apple frames the exchanges as evidence of a coordinated effort rather than isolated misconduct.
“LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny.”— Chang Liu, former Apple systems electrical engineer, now at OpenAI
Apple also targets OpenAI's interview process. Tan is accused of instructing Apple candidates to bring 'actual parts' from their work — batteries, systems-in-package, main logic boards, shields — to 'show and tell sessions,' and to prepare 'Technical Deep Dive' presentations built on confidential Apple material. One candidate allegedly remarked, 'Didn't even know we could take those from the office.' In another instance, Liu allegedly downloaded internal information to help Peng prepare for her OpenAI interview after another candidate 'fumbled' Tan's questions on an unreleased Apple project.
The complaint alleges OpenAI circulated an internal Apple offboarding document to new hires and coached departing staff on how to avoid the 'dreaded walkout' — Apple's practice of immediately removing employees after they give notice, which shortens their window of system access. Departing workers were allegedly told not to sign anything at exit interviews and to alert OpenAI 'asap' if asked to. Apple says the tactics are working, citing a recent trend of employees ignoring security outreach on the way out.
The io allegations extend the case into supply-chain territory. Apple accuses io of misleading an Apple manufacturing partner into believing it had permission to use a proprietary multi-step metal-finishing technique. It further claims OpenAI approached at least one other Apple supplier working on power and batteries, using internal codenames and 'targeted questions' that 'only Apple-insiders would know to ask.'
Apple's rhetorical framing is unusually pointed for a corporate filing. The complaint calls OpenAI's culture 'normalized and exemplified by leadership' and 'rotten to its core,' arguing that 'OpenAI's nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations.' Apple also signals that the current filing is preliminary: 'Discovery will expose that the misappropriation has been occurring on a scale many times greater than the several instances described below.'
“We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.”— Drew Pusateri, OpenAI spokesperson
OpenAI has responded only through a brief public statement. Spokesperson Drew Pusateri told The Verge the company has no interest in competitors' trade secrets and remains focused on its own technology. OpenAI has not yet filed a legal response, and none of the individuals named as defendants have publicly addressed the specific allegations. Apple's claims about the message exchanges, downloads, and interview instructions rest on evidence it says it recovered from Peng's Apple-issued laptop and other internal records, which will be tested through discovery.
The case matters commercially because OpenAI's hardware ambitions are the central premise of the $6.5 billion io deal, and a trade-secret injunction — even a narrow one — could constrain what OpenAI can ship or which suppliers it can use. Apple's decision to attach a specific headcount, 400-plus former employees, is a deliberate escalation: it lets the company argue systemic recruitment rather than a handful of bad actors, which shifts the legal question from individual misconduct to enterprise liability. For OpenAI, the substantive risk is less about damages than about a court-ordered slowdown at exactly the moment its first hardware device is meant to reach the market.
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