Tang Tan and Chang Liu named: Apple sues OpenAI over stolen iPhone secrets

Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on Friday, July 10, in the Northern District of California, marking what is reportedly the first time in the iPhone maker’s 50-year history that it has sued a close business partner.

The suit names Tang Tan, OpenAI’s chief hardware officer, who previously served as Apple’s vice president of product design and led development of the iPhone, smartwatch and AirPods within the company’s hardware engineering division. Tan left Apple in 2024 to co-found an AI devices startup, io Products Inc, which OpenAI later acquired for $6.5 billion.

Also named in the suit is Chang Liu, a former iPhone hardware engineer who joined OpenAI in January. Apple alleges that over several weeks, while developing hardware for OpenAI, Liu ‘surreptitiously accessed and downloaded dozens’ of Apple’s confidential hardware-related files, including unreleased product information, engineering presentations, technical specifications and proprietary project data.

Apple claims more than 400 of its former employees are now at OpenAI, and that Tan encouraged prospective hires to share information about Apple’s upcoming products during job interviews. The company also alleges OpenAI coached departing staff on how to exit without triggering an immediate walkout, allowing them extended access to confidential systems.

‘At every level, from members of its technical staff to its chief hardware officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information,’ Apple said in the filing, adding that OpenAI’s hardware business now rests on ‘the shakiest of foundations.’

Apple is seeking a jury trial and wants OpenAI to stop the alleged practices, destroy any proprietary materials and redesign upcoming products to remove Apple’s technology. The company said it tried to resolve the dispute out of court months earlier but received no response before filing suit.