More than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, fueling a lawsuit that claims a widespread, top-down effort to steal Apple’s confidential information.
The legal action, filed July 10 in Northern California, targets OpenAI’s chief hardware officer, Tang Tan, a former Apple VP. Apple alleges Tan instructed interviewees to bring actual Apple parts to job interviews, turning the process into a “show and tell” of trade secrets.
The complaint describes a pattern of misconduct embedded in OpenAI’s leadership, suggesting this isn’t the work of a few bad actors but an institutional mandate. Apple further accuses OpenAI of coaching departing employees on how to bypass Apple’s security and misleading hardware partners into using Apple’s proprietary metal finishing techniques without authorization.
OpenAI recently acquired IO Products, a startup founded by Jony Ive, for $6.4 billion another focus of the lawsuit. As OpenAI prepares for a hotly anticipated IPO later this year, the unfolding legal battle casts doubt on the timeline and investor confidence.
