In a major escalation of tensions between...

Editor's note: ...two tech giants, Apple filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI on July 10, 2026 accusing the ChatGPT maker of "systematically stealing trade secrets to accelerate its consumer hardware ambitions." The complaint alleges that OpenAI, led by figures including former Apple hardware executives like Chief Hardware Officer Tang Yew Tan, poached over 400 Apple employees and encouraged them to share confidential product designs, unreleased technologies, physical components, and manufacturing details during recruitment "show and tell" sessions. Specific claims include one ex-Apple engineer retaining access to internal systems post-departure to download sensitive files and OpenAI leveraging proprietary information with suppliers. Apple describes the scheme as pervasive and seeks an injunction, damages, and profits from the alleged misappropriation, marking a sharp rupture in their prior partnership on AI features. OpenAI has denied the allegations, stating its work relies on independent research.
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Apple accuses OpenAI, and former design star Jony Ive's io Products firm, of stealing hardware trade secrets in blockbuster lawsuit

By Sebastian Herrera | July 10, 2026

Apple sued OpenAI on Friday for allegedly stealing its trade secrets, an extraordinary move that pits the $4.6 trillion iPhone maker against the fast-growing AI startup as it prepares to release a new class of hardware products that have been shaped in large part by Apple's former design boss.

In the lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California court, Apple accused two former employees now working at OpenAI of systematically stealing confidential data, including information about unreleased hardware products, technical specifications, and details about vendors and contractors in Apple's supply chain. The complaint also listed OpenAI as a defendant, as well as io Products, a hardware design firm acquired by OpenAI last year that was co-founded by Apple's former design boss, Jony Ive.

"At every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information," Apple said in the 41-page complaint. "OpenAI's nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets."

OpenAI told Fortune in a statement that "we have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere."

The lawsuit marks a dramatic escalation between two companies that were once working together to bring OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Apple’s software platforms and Apple's Siri digital assistant. The partnership between Apple and OpenAI faded over time, and in January Apple announced that it was turning to Google for its Apple Intelligence efforts.

An Apple spokeswoman added in a statement that the company's teams "are constantly developing breakthrough technologies to create the best products and services in the world, and protecting their work and intellectual property is something we take very seriously."

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More:

Elon Musk responds to Apple accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets, says Sam Altman literally loves scamming more than...


Does Sam Altman represent one faction...

Sam Altman is another is another fraud and CIA front

...while Elon Musk represents another faction buried inside the intelligence agencies and tech companies?

I don't believe in Elon Musk