Apple Sues OpenAI Over Alleged Trade Secret Theft by Former Engineers

Apple filed a federal lawsuit on July 10, 2026 against OpenAI, Tang Tan (OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer and former Apple VP), former iPhone engineer Chang Liu, and former Apple employee Yu-Ting Peng, alleging a coordinated scheme to misappropriate hardware trade secrets [1][2]. The complaint alleges Tang Tan directed job-interview conversations to extract confidential hardware knowledge from former Apple colleagues, Chang Liu exploited a server bug to download proprietary files after his departure and retained an Apple laptop [2][9], and that OpenAI used the information as an 'unlawful shortcut' toward building AI consumer devices [2]. Tang Tan came to OpenAI through the company's $6.5 billion acquisition of his AI startup [3]. No defendant has issued a public response, and coverage of the complaint continues to expand internationally [10][11][12].

Apple and OpenAI are direct competitors in AI-powered consumer hardware, and the injunctions Apple seeks could block OpenAI's hardware division from using any allegedly misappropriated information. The lawsuit runs alongside an active commercial partnership — Apple Intelligence routes iPhone users to OpenAI's models — making the two companies simultaneous partners and legal adversaries.

Apple filed suit in federal court on July 10, 2026, naming OpenAI and three former Apple employees — Tang Tan, Chang Liu, and Yu-Ting 'Alyssa' Peng — as defendants [1][2]. Tang Tan, who left Apple's senior hardware leadership to become OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer, is the complaint's central figure; he came to OpenAI through the company's $6.5 billion acquisition of his AI startup [3]. Apple alleges he orchestrated a scheme to extract confidential hardware knowledge from former Apple colleagues through job-interview conversations, framing OpenAI's hardware initiative as built on an 'unlawful shortcut' [2][4].

The Chang Liu thread of the complaint describes a specific technical incident. Liu, a former iPhone engineer who joined OpenAI's hardware division, allegedly discovered after his Apple departure that a software bug had left him with continuing access to Apple's internal network storage [2][5]. The complaint quotes him writing 'lol I found out I can access the network storage,' after which he allegedly downloaded confidential files [6][7][8]. Apple also alleges Liu did not return an Apple laptop [9]. Apple is seeking multiple injunctions to block OpenAI from using any information obtained through these means.

Analyst Zvi Mowshowitz, reviewing the complaint's cited evidence including message transcripts, concluded that 'OpenAI totally did what they are accused of doing' and described a broad preliminary injunction as likely [4]. He added that he finds the scope of the legal remedies Apple seeks 'crazy and harmful,' noting he sympathizes with OpenAI's probable view that the lawsuit overreaches even if the underlying conduct was wrong [4]. No response from OpenAI, Tang Tan, or the other named defendants has been made public.

The case sits against an unusual commercial backdrop: Apple and OpenAI have an active partnership through Apple Intelligence, which routes iPhone users to OpenAI's models. Neither party has publicly addressed how the litigation affects that relationship.