OpenAI's Hardware Dreams Face Legal Reckoning as iPhone Giant Targets Executive Over Espionage Claims

Apple launched a major legal offensive on Friday, filing suit against OpenAI in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing the AI giant of running a coordinated effort to extract proprietary trade secrets through its hiring pipeline. The complaint alleges that OpenAI's senior leadership — particularly Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan — directed former Apple employees to smuggle out confidential information as part of a broader corporate intelligence operation. Apple describes the misconduct as a recurring pattern rather than an isolated incident, framing it as a deliberate strategic move tied directly to OpenAI's hardware development plans.

Tang Tan, who spent 24 years at Apple most recently as Vice President of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, is accused of a range of alarming behaviors during OpenAI's recruiting process. According to the complaint, Tan used Apple's confidential project code names in job interviews, coached departing Apple employees on how to bypass Apple's internal security protocols, solicited details about unreleased products, and asked interview candidates to physically bring Apple hardware components to their meetings. These allegations, if proven true, represent a textbook case of industrial espionage orchestrated at the executive level.

A second named employee, Chang Liu, who worked eight years at Apple as a senior systems electrical engineer before departing for OpenAI in 2026, is accused of failing to return an Apple-issued laptop and using it to download confidential technical documents. Liu is additionally alleged to have shared that confidential information with other Apple employees who were also pursuing jobs at OpenAI, even advising at least one candidate on what to study ahead of their interview. The lawsuit further alleges that OpenAI used a proprietary Apple metal finishing technique by misleading a manufacturing partner into believing the company had Apple's authorization to do so.

The timing of the lawsuit is impossible to ignore. OpenAI is widely believed to be developing its first consumer hardware product — rumored to be an AI-native smartphone that replaces traditional apps with AI agents — which would put it in direct competition with Apple's most lucrative product line. The company acquired former Apple design legend Jony Ive's hardware startup io last year in a $6.5 billion deal, signaling serious intent to enter physical consumer devices. While io is named in Apple's filing, Ive himself is not listed as an accused party.

Apple says it sent a formal letter to OpenAI in February raising these concerns and received no response. The company is now asking the court to bar OpenAI from using or disclosing any stolen trade secrets, compel the return of all confidential materials, and preserve relevant evidence for discovery. Apple's legal team made clear that they believe this lawsuit is only the beginning, stating in the filing that the disclosed misconduct is "the tip of the iceberg" and that OpenAI's hardware business is "rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets." OpenAI, for its part, released a brief public statement denying any interest in competitors' trade secrets.