OpenAI hired 400+ ex-Apple staff, lawsuit claims: iPhone maker cries foul over hardware secrets

More than 400 former Apple employees are now working at OpenAI, according to a lawsuit Apple filed against the ChatGPT maker on Friday, July 10, in the Northern District of California. Apple describes the exodus as part of a coordinated campaign to obtain its confidential hardware trade secrets.

At the center of the case is Tang Tan, OpenAI’s chief hardware officer, who previously led iPhone, smartwatch and AirPods hardware development as an Apple vice president of product design before leaving in 2024 to launch io Products Inc — a startup OpenAI acquired for $6.5 billion. Apple alleges Tan encouraged job candidates to share details about the company’s unreleased products during interviews.

The suit also names Chang Liu, a former iPhone hardware engineer who joined OpenAI in January and allegedly downloaded dozens of confidential Apple files over several weeks, including engineering presentations and technical specifications for unreleased products.

Apple further claims OpenAI ‘actively coached’ departing employees on how to exit the company without triggering what it called the ‘dreaded walk out,’ a process that would otherwise cut off their access to confidential systems immediately rather than over a standard two-week notice period.

OpenAI has never disclosed exactly what hardware device it is building, describing it only as an attempt to find new ways to interact with AI beyond ‘traditional products and interfaces.’ Apple’s lawsuit alleges that effort was built in part on knowledge taken from Apple, and says the AI company’s ‘nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations.’

Apple is seeking a jury trial, the destruction of any proprietary materials OpenAI holds, and a redesign of upcoming products to remove its technology, after what it says were unsuccessful attempts to settle the dispute privately.