Apple Sues OpenAI, Alleging Theft of Trade Secrets for AI Hardware Development

Apple sued OpenAI on Friday, accusing the ChatGPT maker of stealing trade secrets to accelerate development of a competing AI hardware business.

In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Apple alleges that former employees shared confidential company information with OpenAI during recruiting and after joining the company.

"This case is about Apple's former employees stealing Apple's trade secrets for the benefit of OpenAI. Apple brings this suit to put a stop to it," Apple's attorneys said in the complaint.

The lawsuit names Tang Tan, Apple's former vice president who now leads OpenAI's hardware efforts, accusing him of directing a campaign to obtain Apple's confidential information. OpenAI and former Apple employee Chang Liu are also named as defendants.

OpenAI denied the allegations.

"We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere," said OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri.

The case could become one of the technology industry's biggest legal battles, pitting one of the world's largest consumer electronics companies against one of the fastest-growing AI firms.

Apple claims it launched an internal investigation after discovering that a company laptop had not been returned by Liu after he left for OpenAI. According to the lawsuit, Liu exploited a previously unknown software bug to access Apple's systems after joining OpenAI.

Apple alleges that Liu downloaded confidential hardware files, including information about unreleased products, engineering presentations, technical specifications and proprietary project data.

The claims resemble Google's 2017 lawsuit against Uber involving former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski, who was accused of taking self-driving technology files before leaving the company. Levandowski was later convicted of trade secret theft, while Uber eventually exited the self-driving car business.

The lawsuit also follows OpenAI's recent legal victory against Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose lawsuit accused the company of abandoning its original nonprofit mission. Although OpenAI prevailed in that case, testimony from former executives raised questions about the company's internal leadership.

Apple's complaint does not accuse OpenAI CEO Sam Altman of directing the alleged theft. However, it argues that the actions described in the lawsuit are "the tip of the iceberg" and suggests broader misconduct within the company.

Altman has frequently praised Apple and its late co-founder Steve Jobs. OpenAI has also partnered with former Apple design chief Jony Ive to develop AI-focused hardware, although Ive is not named in Apple's lawsuit.

The legal dispute comes as OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and other AI companies compete to develop AI-powered devices and services. Apple argues that OpenAI's hardware ambitions were built using misappropriated trade secrets.

The lawsuit seeks to stop the alleged misuse of Apple's confidential information and could have significant implications for OpenAI's hardware plans and the broader AI industry.

Source: Washington Post