Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Apple is suing OpenAI, accusing the AI company of building its hardware ambitions using confidential Apple trade secrets.
- The lawsuit names OpenAI, io Products, and former Apple employees Tang Tan and Chang Liu, alleging they helped transfer sensitive Apple information.
- Apple claims the alleged misconduct was coordinated, not isolated, and involved proprietary product development, manufacturing, and supplier data.
Apple’s relationship with OpenAI has just taken a dramatic turn. The tech giant, which partnered to bring the popular AI-powered chatbot to the iPhone two years ago, is now suing OpenAI, alleging that its expansion into AI hardware was based on confidential Apple trade secrets allegedly stolen by former employees.
Bloomberg reports that Apple’s lawsuit names OpenAI; its hardware division, io Products; and former Apple employees Tang Tan and Chang Liu. Tan, who now serves as the chief hardware officer for OpenAI following the company’s acquisition of Jony Ive’s io Products, previously helped develop products such as the iPhone and Apple Watch. Liu joined OpenAI earlier this year after working as an Apple electrical engineer.
According to the complaint, Apple believes the alleged theft wasn’t limited to a few rogue employees. The company says that OpenAI carried out what it calls a coordinated effort to obtain Apple’s proprietary product development, manufacturing and supplier information to expedite its hardware ambitions. Apple said Tan allegedly encouraged job applicants to bring Apple components or proprietary information to interviews, while Liu allegedly kept sensitive Apple files when he left the company and accessed confidential engineering data without authorization.
The case concerns OpenAI’s expanding hardware plans. The company has been working with former Apple designer Jony Ive on a new category of AI devices since acquiring io Products. Apple says those efforts have been unfairly guided by knowledge taken from its internal development process, rather than built independently.
Apple is seeking damages and an injunction to prevent OpenAI from using or profiting from the allegedly misappropriated trade secrets. The lawsuit also demands the return or destruction of any confidential Apple materials still in the defendants’ possession.
As of this writing, OpenAI has not publicly responded to the allegations. Regardless of the outcome of the case, the lawsuit escalates the race to build AI hardware, where the fight is no longer just about smarter models but also about who owns the ideas behind the devices that will power them.
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