Apple and OpenAI once looked like unlikely partners. Now, Apple is accusing the ChatGPT maker of benefiting from stolen trade secrets as it prepares to enter the consumer hardware business.
As first detailed by 9to5Mac, Apple filed a lawsuit Friday against OpenAI, io Products, and former Apple employees Tang Tan and Chang Liu. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Apple says the case involves confidential information about unreleased technologies, manufacturing processes, and products. The company claims individuals employed by OpenAI improperly took that information after working inside Apple.
Tan spent years at Apple and served as vice president of product design, working on the iPhone and Apple Watch. He later helped create io Products with former Apple design chief Jony Ive and now serves as OpenAI’s chief hardware officer.
According to the lawsuit, Tan used Apple’s internal project knowledge while interviewing employees who were still working at the company. Apple alleges he instructed some candidates to bring actual Apple components, including batteries and logic boards, to OpenAI interviews for “show and tell” sessions.
Apple also claims Tan circulated an internal document explaining its departure security procedures. The company argues that the document was used to help employees joining OpenAI avoid checks designed to protect confidential information.
The allegations against Liu are just as nasty. Axios reports that Apple accuses the former senior electrical engineer of keeping a company-issued laptop and discovering a bug that allowed him to access Apple’s cloud storage after leaving.
Apple claims Liu downloaded dozens of confidential hardware files while working for OpenAI, including a collection of more than 1,000 pages involving engineering work and circuit-board manufacturing.
It is very important to note, none of these allegations have been proven in court.
Apple says more than 400 former employees now work at OpenAI. That number alone does not suggest anyone did anything wrong. Companies recruit from competitors all the time. Apple’s far more serious claim is that OpenAI allegedly solicited confidential material and used insider knowledge while developing its own hardware.
The lawsuit also accuses OpenAI of approaching Apple partners with confidential information. In one instance, Apple claims a partner was asked to perform a proprietary metal-finishing process while being misled into believing Apple had approved it.
Apple is seeking damages, the return of its materials, and a court order preventing the defendants from possessing, using, or disclosing its trade secrets.
Apple says it raised its concerns with OpenAI in February but received no response. NERDS.xyz has contacted Apple requesting additional comment and a copy of the complaint.
This is no ordinary fight over Silicon Valley workers changing jobs. Apple is accusing OpenAI of turning its recruitment operation into a pipeline for confidential hardware information. That is an explosive charge, but Apple will now have to prove it.
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