Apple sued OpenAI in July 2026 in federal court in California, accusing the company and its subsidiary io Products of orchestrating the theft of trade secrets, including hardware designs, manufacturing methods, and confidential engineering documents. OpenAI responded on August 4 by blaming Apple, arguing that Apple’s own security failures during employee offboarding made the alleged theft possible. Two former Apple employees, Tang Yew Tan and Chang Liu, are named in the lawsuit, and OpenAI hired approximately 400 former Apple employees after acquiring io Products for $6.5 billion in 2025. OpenAI has sought dismissal, arguing that Apple has not demonstrated actual theft of confidential information, with a hearing scheduled for October 1, 2026 on the preliminary injunction request. The case is complicated by the fact that Apple and OpenAI maintain a partnership for ChatGPT integration into Apple products.
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