Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on Friday that reads less like a tech dispute and more like a spy thriller. The complaint, lodged in federal court for the Northern District of California, accuses the ChatGPT maker of running a systematic campaign to steal Apple's hardware secrets.
The filing doesn't mince words: theft happened "at every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners." Alongside OpenAI, Apple named two defendants — Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer, and Tang Tan, once Apple's vice president of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch, now OpenAI's hardware chief.
Liu's part of the story reads almost like a joke gone wrong. After leaving Apple, he kept his company laptop and discovered an authentication flaw that still let him into Apple's internal network storage. "LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny," he reportedly wrote to a former colleague — then, according to the complaint, downloaded dozens of confidential files: technical presentations, engineering data, details on unreleased products.
Tan's alleged role goes further. Apple says he told job candidates still working at the company to bring actual hardware parts to OpenAI interviews for "show and tell," coached departing staff on how to dodge Apple's exit-security checks, and passed along details about Apple's suppliers.
Back in 2024, the two companies looked like allies — ChatGPT got built straight into Siri and iOS. That changed once OpenAI bought Jony Ive's hardware startup, io Products, for roughly $6.4 billion and revealed plans for its own AI device. A partner turned into a rival on the exact turf Apple considers its own.
OpenAI denies all of it: "We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere," the company said. The lawsuit is only the opening move — what actually shows up during discovery will matter far more than any of Friday's headlines.
