Apple Seeks Injunction Against OpenAI After Uncovering 11 More Employees in Trade Secret Probe
Tech giant demands emergency discovery to halt OpenAI's $6.5B hardware venture over alleged stolen designs.
Apple has requested expedited discovery in a high-stakes federal lawsuit against OpenAI, revealing that internal investigators identified 11 additional former employees linked to alleged trade secret leaks surrounding unannounced hardware products.
The court filing seeks a preliminary injunction to halt OpenAI from moving forward with the development of artificial intelligence devices suspected of relying on proprietary Apple technologies. The legal escalation builds on prior theft allegations against Tang Yew Tan, a former Apple vice president of product design, and Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer.
Court documents detail that one former engineer met with Chang Liu before an OpenAI job interview to discuss Apple proprietary information relating to unannounced products. Another departing worker took screenshots of confidential Apple documents relating to an unannounced Apple Product prior to interviewing at OpenAI, while multiple former staff members now working at OpenAI reached out to discuss returning Apple-issued work devices they kept when they left Apple.
The litigation directly targets OpenAI’s expanding hardware operations, centered around its $6.5 billion acquisition of io Products, a startup co-founded by former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive. Named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, io Products is reportedly developing an AI-enabled smart speaker alongside OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman to establish a post-smartphone computing platform.
OpenAI pushed back in a court response, asserting that Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction is “both based on false information and completely unnecessary because we do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets.” To counter the allegations, OpenAI produced text messages involving Chang Liu showing Apple personnel reaching out to him post-resignation to locate missing files, pointing to an example of Apple “failing to properly manage system access when people leave.”
