rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets
In the long contest between secrecy and ambition, Apple has drawn a legal line in the Northern District of California, accusing OpenAI of building its hardware aspirations not through invention but through the systematic extraction of confidential knowledge from departing employees. The complaint names two former Apple engineers — hardware lead Tang Tan and electrical engineer Chang Liu — as the architects of a months-long operation to funnel unreleased device designs, manufacturing processes, and supplier relationships into OpenAI's hands. At its heart, the case asks a question that will outlast any verdict: in an industry where talent moves freely and ideas travel with people, where does legitimate competitive recruitment end and institutional theft begin?
- Apple alleges OpenAI didn't just hire away its engineers — it allegedly weaponized them, coaching new recruits to conceal their OpenAI employment and remain inside Apple longer to extract more confidential information.
- The scheme reportedly reached striking depths: an internal Apple security document marked 'Need to Know' was allegedly obtained by Tang Tan and circulated to departing employees as a roadmap for evading the company's own exit protocols.
- Chang Liu's conduct after leaving Apple was particularly audacious — he allegedly exploited a system vulnerability to download dozens of confidential files while already on OpenAI's payroll, and texted a still-employed Apple contact with amusement when he discovered his access remained open.
- The alleged theft extended beyond documents to physical hardware — Apple claims at least one candidate was instructed to bring batteries, logic boards, and system-in-package modules to an OpenAI interview as part of a coordinated pattern across multiple recruits.
- Apple is now seeking injunctions to strip OpenAI of the allegedly stolen technologies and unspecified damages, while the broader Apple-OpenAI partnership over ChatGPT integration has simultaneously grown cold — two companies once collaborating now facing each other across a courtroom.
Apple filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday accusing OpenAI of orchestrating a systematic theft of trade secrets to fast-track its entry into AI hardware. The complaint, filed in the Northern District of California, centers on two former Apple employees: Tang Tan, now leading OpenAI's hardware efforts, and Chang Liu, a former electrical engineer. Apple alleges the two men directed a months-long operation to extract confidential information from Apple employees who were interviewing at OpenAI — pressuring candidates to reveal details about unreleased devices, manufacturing processes, and supplier relationships before they resigned.
The alleged scheme was sophisticated. Tan reportedly used his knowledge of Apple's exit procedures to help departing workers evade security protocols, obtaining an internal document outlining those procedures and sharing it with OpenAI recruits as a guide for slipping confidential information past Apple's defenses. Messages recovered from Apple-issued devices show the document being circulated to new hires, with instructions not to disclose their OpenAI employment so they could remain at Apple longer and gather more. Departing employees allegedly emailed themselves confidential files and brought physical hardware components — batteries, logic boards, system-in-package modules — to OpenAI interviews.
Liu's conduct after leaving Apple was especially bold. He allegedly exploited a vulnerability in Apple's systems to download dozens of confidential documents while already employed at OpenAI, and maintained contact with a current Apple employee who continued feeding him project updates and engineering details. When Liu discovered his access to Apple's internal network storage remained open, he reportedly texted his contact: 'LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny.'
The alleged theft extended to Apple's supplier relationships. OpenAI reportedly approached Apple vendors using stolen information, and in at least one case deceived a supplier into applying a proprietary metal-finishing technique to an OpenAI device by falsely claiming Apple had authorized it. Apple says it first contacted OpenAI about the suspected theft in February but received no response, prompting a deeper investigation that revealed the full scope of the operation.
Apple is seeking an injunction to prevent OpenAI from using the stolen technologies, along with unspecified damages. The suit names Tan and Liu as defendants and also targets io Products, a company OpenAI acquired, but does not name CEO Sam Altman or former Apple design chief Jony Ive. Apple's filing describes OpenAI's hardware division as 'rotten to its core,' arguing the company chose theft over genuine development under pressure to launch a device. The case arrives as the broader Apple-OpenAI relationship — built around ChatGPT's integration into Siri — has reportedly soured, with both sides now eyeing litigation on separate fronts.
Apple filed a lawsuit in federal court on Thursday accusing OpenAI of orchestrating a systematic theft of trade secrets to accelerate its entry into AI hardware development. The complaint, lodged in the Northern District of California, centers on two former Apple employees now working at OpenAI: Tang Tan, who leads the company's hardware efforts and previously worked as a designer at Apple, and Chang Liu, a former electrical engineer. According to Apple's legal filing, these men directed a months-long operation to extract confidential information from Apple employees who were interviewing for positions at OpenAI, pressuring them to reveal details about unreleased devices, manufacturing processes, component designs, and relationships with key suppliers.
The scheme operated with striking sophistication. Tan allegedly leveraged his intimate knowledge of Apple's employee exit procedures to help departing workers evade the company's security protocols. He obtained an internal Apple document marked "Need to Know" that outlined security procedures for employees leaving the company, then shared it with OpenAI recruits before they submitted their resignations, essentially giving them a roadmap for how to slip confidential information past Apple's defenses. Messages recovered from Apple-issued work devices show Tan and his OpenAI colleagues circulating this document to new hires, coaching them not to disclose their OpenAI employment to Apple so they could remain at the company longer and extract more information. The lawsuit describes a pattern: departing employees emailed themselves confidential files, brought physical hardware components to OpenAI interviews, and exploited their access to Apple systems even after leaving.
Liu's conduct was particularly brazen. After departing Apple, he retained his company-issued laptop and exploited a vulnerability in Apple's systems to download dozens of confidential documents while employed at OpenAI. He maintained contact with Yu-Ting Peng, an Apple employee still working there, who continued feeding him updates on Apple's projects, vendor decisions, and engineering details. When Liu discovered he could still access Apple's internal network storage, he texted Peng with apparent amusement: "LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny." Apple's investigation uncovered evidence that Tan instructed at least one employee to bring hardware components—batteries, system-in-package modules, logic boards—to an OpenAI interview, and that this was not an isolated request but part of a coordinated effort across multiple candidates.
The alleged theft extended to Apple's supplier relationships. OpenAI apparently approached Apple vendors using confidential hardware information obtained through the stolen documents, and in at least one case, deceived a supplier into applying a proprietary metal-finishing technique to an OpenAI device by falsely claiming Apple had authorized the work. Apple's statement to the press emphasized the seriousness of the breach: "Recently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Apple's secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products." The company said it first contacted OpenAI about the suspected theft in February, but received no response, prompting a deeper investigation that uncovered the full scope of the operation.
Apple's lawsuit names Tan and Liu as defendants and accuses them of breaching their employment contracts with Apple. The company is seeking an injunction to prevent OpenAI from possessing, using, or disclosing the stolen technologies, along with unspecified damages to be determined at trial. Notably, the suit does not name OpenAI CEO Sam Altman or Jony Ive, Apple's former design chief who now works at OpenAI, though it does target io Products, a company OpenAI acquired. Apple characterizes OpenAI's hardware division as fundamentally compromised, writing in the filing that the business is "rotten to its core" because it rests entirely on misappropriated trade secrets rather than legitimate innovation. The company argues that OpenAI, facing pressure to launch a hardware device, chose to steal rather than invest in genuine development.
The lawsuit arrives amid a broader cooling in the Apple-OpenAI relationship. The two companies partnered to integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT into Siri, but that collaboration has reportedly soured, with OpenAI allegedly considering its own lawsuit against Apple over the integration's failure to meet expectations. Apple's filing mentions the Siri partnership only to clarify that it is not at issue in the trade secret case. The company also notes that more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, though the lawsuit does not appear to target the recruitment practice itself, only the alleged coordinated theft. The case now moves into discovery, where both sides will exchange evidence and depositions, potentially exposing the full mechanics of how OpenAI built its hardware ambitions on Apple's confidential foundation.
Citações Notáveis
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's lawsuit filing
OpenAI has turned to trade secret misappropriation to free-ride off Apple's decades of innovation.— Apple's lawsuit filing
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why would OpenAI need to steal from Apple? Doesn't the company have enough resources and talent to build hardware on its own?
Resources and talent are different things. OpenAI can hire engineers, but it can't easily hire the specific institutional knowledge Apple has accumulated over decades—how to work with suppliers, what materials work at scale, which vendors are reliable. That knowledge is embedded in documents and relationships. Stealing it is faster than learning it.
The lawsuit mentions that Tan instructed employees to bring physical parts to interviews. That seems almost reckless.
It does. But it also suggests desperation or confidence that they wouldn't get caught. If you're under pressure to ship hardware and you have someone inside Apple who knows the exit procedures, the security gaps start to look like opportunities rather than obstacles.
What strikes you most about Chang Liu keeping access to Apple's systems after he left?
The casualness of it. He texted a friend "LOL, I found out I can access the network storage, so funny." That's not the tone of someone committing espionage. It's the tone of someone who doesn't think there will be consequences. That suggests the culture at OpenAI made this feel normal, not transgressive.
Apple says the hardware business is "rotten to its core." Is that just legal rhetoric, or does it mean something real about what OpenAI built?
It means that if Apple can prove all of this, then OpenAI's hardware designs, manufacturing relationships, and supplier knowledge are all tainted. You can't unknow what you learned from stolen documents. Even if OpenAI stops using the documents tomorrow, the advantage is already baked in. That's why Apple wants an injunction—to prevent OpenAI from using any of it going forward.
What happens to the 400 former Apple employees at OpenAI now?
That's the open question. The lawsuit doesn't target recruitment itself, only the alleged coordinated theft. But if this case goes to trial and Apple wins, it creates liability for anyone who participated. Some of those 400 people may have been involved; most probably weren't. But the ones who were are now exposed.