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Apple's trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI targets its hardware chief and the device he is building

· by Pondero Newsdesk

The short version

Apple's 41-page complaint names Chief Hardware Officer Tang Yew Tan, who spent 24 years at Apple, and alleges the stolen secrets are now embedded in OpenAI's planned hardware product.

Apple's trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI targets its hardware chief and the device he is building

Apple's 41-page complaint, filed July 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, does more than accuse individual OpenAI employees of downloading confidential files. It names the executive directing OpenAI's hardware effort and alleges the misappropriated secrets are now embedded in the product OpenAI plans to ship.

What the lawsuit says

The complaint centers on Tang Yew Tan, who spent 24 years at Apple, most recently as vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, before joining OpenAI as chief hardware officer. Apple alleges Tan used confidential Apple project code names during OpenAI's recruiting process and directed job candidates to bring actual Apple hardware parts to their interviews for "show and tell sessions," per Apple's complaint as reviewed by TechCrunch. Candidates were also instructed to bring CAD artifacts and prototypes. One candidate stated he did not know Apple parts could be taken from the office.

A second named employee, Chang Liu, who spent eight years at Apple as a senior systems electrical engineer before leaving for OpenAI in 2026, is accused of keeping an Apple-issued laptop after his departure and using it to download confidential technical documents. Apple also alleges Liu shared that information with other Apple employees who were interviewing at OpenAI.

More than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, including members of the original iPhone design team, per the complaint as reported by TechCrunch. Apple's filing states OpenAI coached departing staff on how to avoid the "dreaded walkout," the immediate escorted exit Apple uses when an employee gives notice, to extend the window for accessing confidential systems.

io, the hardware design firm Jony Ive co-founded and OpenAI acquired for $6.5 billion in 2025, is also named as a defendant. Apple alleges io used a proprietary Apple metal-finishing technique by misleading a manufacturing partner into believing it had Apple's authorization.

Why it matters

Two risks run in parallel. The first is the possibility of injunctive relief that could directly restrain what OpenAI ships. OpenAI is developing a screenless, mobile smart speaker with moving mechanical elements, described internally as a "humanlike AI companion," per Bloomberg as reported by TechCrunch. Apple is asking the court to bar OpenAI from using or disclosing its trade secrets and to require the return of all confidential materials.

The second risk involves OpenAI's IPO. OpenAI filed confidentially for a public offering in June 2026. A trade secret lawsuit tied directly to the executive running hardware puts pressure on the roadshow if bankers are pricing hardware into OpenAI's addressable market, per analysis published by TechCrunch's Equity podcast. Any constraint on the hardware product changes the valuation math before shares are priced.

OpenAI said on July 14 that it is "not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit," per TechCrunch. Apple's filing counters that its investigation has found only a fraction of the alleged misconduct: "This is the tip of the iceberg."

What to watch next

Apple sent OpenAI a letter raising these concerns in February 2026 and received no response, per the complaint. Whether Apple files for a preliminary injunction before the hardware product ships is the near-term variable. Federal discovery will determine the actual scale of the alleged operation. Apple's complaint states it believes misappropriation has occurred "on a scale many times greater than the several instances described."

Sources