Apple sues OpenAI: "theft of trade secrets"
On July 10, 2026, Apple officially filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in the US Federal Court in the Northern District of California, accusing the company that created ChatGPT of stealing trade secrets through two of its former employees, and violating the signed contract. This is one of the most shocking lawsuits in the technology world this year, not only because of the scale of the two parties involved but also because it exposes the deep rift between two companies that were once partners.
From partners to competitors
Before becoming two opposing sides in court, Apple and OpenAI used to cooperate quite closely: ChatGPT is integrated into the Apple Intelligence ecosystem to support artificial intelligence features on the iPhone. However, this relationship gradually crumbled. By early 2026, Apple is said to have switched to using Google's Gemini model for some AI features instead of relying on OpenAI. The situation became even more tense when in May 2026, OpenAI itself was said to have considered suing Apple, alleging breach of contract. The lawsuit on July 10, therefore, was the culmination of a series of collisions, not a sudden incident. But the deeper motive probably lies in the fact that the two companies are no longer partners but have become direct competitors in the hardware segment. OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, is pursuing the ambition of creating "a new generation of AI devices that can replace smartphones" — in other words, competing directly with Apple's core products. There is information that OpenAI is even developing its own smartphone, expected to launch around 2028.
Two former Apple employees are at the center of the lawsuit
Apple's lawsuit focuses on two specific individuals. The first is Tang Tan, who spent 24 years working at Apple, holding the position of Vice President in charge of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch — that is, one of the most senior figures to ever hold Apple's most important hardware design secrets. Tan left Apple in February 2024, co-founded io Products with legendary designer Jony Ive, and currently holds the position of Chief Hardware Officer of OpenAI.
Photo: https://ohmygeek.net/, the second person from the right is Tang Tan According to the lawsuit, Tan is accused of using the codenames of Apple's secret projects during the recruitment process for OpenAI, even requiring interview candidates to bring real Apple hardware components for a "show and tell" presentation. Apple also accused Tan of possessing and distributing to new OpenAI employees documents describing Apple's internal security procedures — which help others know how to "circumvent" security measures when leaving the company. The second person is Chang Liu, a senior system electrical engineer with 8 years of experience at Apple, joining OpenAI in January 2026. Liu is accused of exploiting an internal security vulnerability to download a set of technical documents more than 1,000 pages long, containing details about the circuit board manufacturing process, and kept a company laptop after quitting his job. In addition, the lawsuit also states another notable detail: OpenAI is accused of having "overtaken" an Apple processing partner to let this company perform a metal surface finishing technique that is Apple's exclusive secret, and at the same time contact component suppliers using internal terminology that only people who have worked at Apple know.
io Products and OpenAI's AI hardware ambitions
An important link in the lawsuit is io Products — a design company co-founded by Jony Ive and Tang Tan, acquired by OpenAI for $6.4 billion in May 2025. This deal puts all of Ive's high-level hardware design capabilities into OpenAI's hands, serving the development of a completely new AI companion device — considered the company's next major hardware project, and also a product that competes directly with Apple devices. Notably, io Products is named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with OpenAI, Tang Tan and Chang Liu, but Jony Ive himself is not named in the lawsuit, even though he is the person behind the entire design direction of this company.
What does Apple want from the lawsuit?
According to the content of the lawsuit, Apple asks the court to ban OpenAI from continuing to use or disclose the allegedly stolen trade secrets, force the return of all related documents and data, require the parties to preserve all evidence related to the case, and seek compensation for damages. The lawsuit also states that Apple first raised the issue with OpenAI in February 2026 but did not receive a satisfactory response, and that is why Apple decided to take the case to court. One line in the lawsuit that was widely quoted in the press was Apple's description of its "inability to see what was going on behind closed doors" at OpenAI — revealing the depth of Apple's suspicions about the scale of the alleged conduct.
How OpenAI responded
As of the time major newspapers such as CNBC, TechCrunch, Axios, CNN reported the news (July 10, 2026), OpenAI, Jony Ive and io Products have not made any official comments on the lawsuit. Many news agencies describe this as still a developing story, so further developments — including the official response from OpenAI, the possibility of mediation, or whether the court approves Apple's request for a temporary ban — will likely be updated in the near future. Reference source: