Apple Is Suing OpenAI for Allegedly Stealing Hardware Secrets

Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its hardware chief, alleging that OpenAI encouraged former Apple employees to steal confidential hardware designs, unreleased prototypes, supplier information, and trade secrets to accelerate development of its own hardware products. The lawsuit claims that OpenAI's hardware chief, who previously worked at Apple for 24 years overseeing iPhone design, coached departing employees on evading Apple's security protocols and directed job candidates to bring actual Apple components to interviews. The case matters because Apple and OpenAI were previously partners in a landmark deal but are now expected to compete fiercely in the emerging market for AI-powered consumer devices, making this one of the highest-stakes intellectual property battles in Silicon Valley in recent years. OpenAI has hired over 400 former Apple employees and acquired a startup cofounded by longtime Apple executives, which Apple claims provides the foundation for the alleged theft of proprietary information.