Apple has filed a sweeping trade-secret lawsuit accusing OpenAI of systematically obtaining confidential product, supply-chain and manufacturing information from former Apple employees — yet the complaint conspicuously avoids naming Jony Ive, the legendary designer at the center of OpenAI's hardware ambitions.
July 10, 2026 · N.D. California
Apple Sues OpenAI Over Trade Secrets — But Not Jony Ive
A 41-page complaint accuses OpenAI of systematically obtaining confidential Apple product, supply-chain and manufacturing know-how through former employees — while conspicuously leaving Ive, the designer at the heart of OpenAI's hardware push, unnamed.
41
pages in the trade-secret complaint
$6.5B
OpenAI's 2025 acquisition of io Products
3+
named defendants — Ive not among them
Named in the suit — and the notable absence
Apple targets the corporate entity and specific engineers, not the designer widely seen as the driving force.
Defendants
OpenAI
io Products, LLC (co-founded by Ive)
Tang Yew Tan — former Apple engineer
Chang Liu — former Apple engineer
Not named
Jony Ive
His studio LoveFrom stays independent of OpenAI and leads its design — a structure central to why he's left out.
The alleged misconduct
Apple says OpenAI orchestrated the acquisition of decades of design and manufacturing know-how.
Unreleased product details
Supplier relationships
Proprietary metal-finishing techniques
Prototypes carried into job interviews
From partners to rivals
A once-friendly relationship deteriorates as OpenAI moves toward an iPhone rival.
2024
Partnership to integrate ChatGPT into iOS
→
2025
OpenAI acquires io Products for ~$6.5B
→
Jul 2026
Apple files sweeping trade-secret suit
Codex Micro — OpenAI's first shipped hardware
A $230, 13-switch programmable keyboard for the Codex coding agent — not the flagship consumer device.
Interest
Developers welcome a dedicated controller for AI-agent workflows and see it as a practical companion for Codex coding tasks.
Skepticism
Many call it a niche accessory, not the flagship. The real Ive-led consumer device is months away — and now entangled in litigation.
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