Apple vs. OpenAI, the inevitable lawsuit over the successor to the iPhone

Apple has filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets, alleging the AI company is leveraging former Apple employees to develop a new generation of AI-powered gadgets. The tech giant claims OpenAI, with the assistance of Jony Ive, Apple's former chief designer, is attempting to create a new line of devices that may be operated through conversational AI rather than traditional screens.

Jony Ive, who was instrumental in the design of iconic Apple products like the iMac and iPhone, left Apple in 2019 to start his own design firm. OpenAI acquired Ive's company in 2025. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly expressed admiration for Ive, and vice versa. Ive is reportedly drawing from his pool of former Apple colleagues to staff OpenAI's new venture, including Tang Tan, formerly Apple's chief hardware officer, who now holds the same title at OpenAI.

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With so many former Apple employees in the employ of OpenAI, it is not surprising that they have knowledge of our trade secrets. But they are not allowed to share it.

According to Apple's 41-page complaint, Tan is accused of recruiting former Apple employees and soliciting prototypes and work samples from applicants. "With so many former Apple employees in the employ of OpenAI, it is not surprising that they have knowledge of our trade secrets," Apple stated. Another former Apple employee, Chang Liu, allegedly failed to return his company laptop and used it to download documents related to future Apple designs, which Apple described as "funny" to collect.

Apple contends that OpenAI's nascent hardware division is fundamentally flawed, built upon "stolen trade secrets." The lawsuit also targets Apple's advanced manufacturing processes, a closely guarded trade secret involving the production of hundreds of millions of high-quality devices annually. While Apple outsources manufacturing, its suppliers are trained by Apple's design department, and these fabrication techniques for iPhones, MacBooks, and AirPods are proprietary. Apple alleges that OpenAI misled one of its suppliers to share secret methods for high-end metalworking, purportedly with Apple's consent.

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The nascent hardware division of OpenAI is built on a shaky foundation of stolen trade secrets and is rotten to the core.