Apple sues OpenAI exec for theft of trade secrets

As first reported by Bloomberg, Apple has filed suit against OpenAI, accusing the AI developer of running a coordinated campaign to steal information about upcoming Apple products.

OpenAI is Apple’s partner in some ways. Since iOS 18 was released two years ago, Apple has incorporated ChatGPT features into Apple Intelligence, allowing users to optionally ask ChatGPT for more detailed information than Apple’s own AI can provide, or to write longer-form text.

But in recent years, OpenAI has set its sights on more than just providing AI services to consumers and businesses. The company is reportedly working on more than one hardware device, and while the rumors vary about the form it will take (a pin? a pendant? a pen? a little desk accessory?), it will almost certainly compete with one or more of the AI-powered accessories Apple is said to be working on.

OpenAI has also enlisted the help of Jony Ive, the celebrated Apple designer who left the company seven years ago, to help it design products. OpenAI has poached numerous Apple employees—according to the lawsuit, over 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.

Apple’s lawsuit claims OpenAI “encouraged Apple employees to share information, components, drawings, and other materials related to upcoming products.” The lawsuit also names Tang Tan, OpenAI’s chief hardware officer, who previously was VP of product design at Apple, charging Tan ” exploited a rare, previously unknown authentication bug to access Apple’s shared network folders” and “surreptitiously accessed and downloaded dozens of Apple’s confidential hardware-related files, including voluminous, detailed information about unreleased products, engineering presentations, technical specifications, and proprietary project data.”

Apple is seeking a jury trial and demands that OpenAI cease its practices, destroy any proprietary materials, and redesign its products so they don’t use any of Apple’s technology. According to Apple’s suit, it attempted to resolve this matter months ago out of court and only filed the suit when it received no response.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Tan and incoming Apple CEO John Ternus have “had a rocky relationship for years.” Tan was reportedly is the running for the head of hardware engineering role that Ternus got, and Gurman says the “vast majority” of the employees poached by OpenAI came from Ternus’s division.

You can read the entire lawsuit, which also requests “Damages sufficient to compensate for the actual loss caused by Defendants’ trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract,” here.