Apple sues OpenAI and hardware chief Tang Tan over alleged trade-secret theft

Apple sued OpenAI on July 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging the ChatGPT maker and two former Apple employees stole trade secrets tied to Apple’s unreleased hardware. The complaint also seeks damages for breach of contract.

The suit lands as OpenAI pushes into consumer devices, and it names OpenAI’s hardware venture IO Products as a defendant alongside two former Apple engineers. It pulls the rivalry between the two companies out of software and into hardware.

Apple’s complaint centers on Tang Tan, OpenAI’s chief hardware officer and a 24-year Apple veteran who was vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple alleges Tan used confidential Apple project code names while recruiting, asked candidates to bring Apple hardware components to their interviews, and coached departing staff on how to evade the company’s security.

The second named engineer, Chang Liu, spent eight years as a senior systems electrical engineer at Apple before joining OpenAI in 2026. Apple alleges Liu failed to return an Apple-issued laptop, downloaded confidential technical documents, and shared confidential information with other prospective OpenAI hires. Apple also alleges OpenAI misled partners into believing it had permission to use Apple’s proprietary metal-finishing techniques.

“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,” Apple said in a statement.

The allegations are unproven, and none has been tested in court. OpenAI did not immediately respond to the suit, and the filing reflects only Apple’s account; Tan and Liu have not commented. The case will hinge on whether Apple can show its information met the legal bar for a trade secret and that the defendants used it.