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Apple Sues OpenAI, Alleging Ex-Engineers Stole Hardware Trade Secrets for AI Device Push

July 11, 2026 at 10:16 EDT

Policy & Regulation
Security
Recruiting & HR

Apple filed suit against OpenAI on July 10, 2026, accusing the AI company and two former Apple engineers of stealing confidential hardware trade secrets to accelerate OpenAI's fledgling consumer-device business. The complaint, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, names OpenAI's corporate entities, io Products, LLC, and two individuals: Chang Liu, now a member of OpenAI's technical staff, and Tang Yew Tan, OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer and a former Apple vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch.

July 10, 2026 · Northern District of California

Apple Sues OpenAI Over Alleged Hardware Trade-Secret Theft

Apple accuses OpenAI, its io Products unit, and two former Apple engineers of stealing confidential iPhone hardware secrets to jump-start OpenAI's consumer-device push. The complaint seeks an injunction, damages, and the return of files.

Former Apple engineers named as defendants

1,000+

Pages in one confidential hardware file allegedly downloaded

$6.5B

OpenAI's 2025 acquisition of io Products

The "coordinated effort" at every level — by the numbers

Named
individuals

400+

Ex-Apple staff
now at OpenAI

Apple frames the conduct as an organization-wide talent-and-know-how transfer — not isolated wrongdoing. (Blocks illustrate relative scale, not exact ratios.)

Who Apple is suing — and what it alleges

Chang Liu

8 yrs at Apple · now OpenAI technical staff

Allegedly kept company laptop after January 2026 exit
Used an authentication bug to reach internal network storage
Downloaded logic-board manufacturing & testing files

Tang Yew Tan

Ex-Apple VP · OpenAI Chief Hardware Officer

Allegedly forwarded supplier info to personal email
Coached departing staff on bypassing security
Had candidates bring "actual parts" to interviews

Striking claims

Observers call the detailed allegations remarkable, spotlighting how aggressively OpenAI is pivoting from software models toward physical AI devices.

Unproven, so far

The case is at the pleading stage. No defendant has prevailed on the merits, and trade-secret misappropriation is often hard to establish in court.

Still unknown: OpenAI's first device has not shipped — no verified benchmarks, pricing, or release date exist. Reports float an internal target of around April 2027, but that is not officially confirmed.

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