Technology giant Apple initiated legal proceedings last Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI engaged in the systematic theft of trade secrets by recruiting former Apple employees, actions aimed at accelerating its consumer hardware development. The filing identifies OpenAI's former Apple hardware design vice president and a former system electrical engineer as central figures in the alleged misappropriation.
In a 41-page complaint, Apple contends that the engineer, after leaving the company to join OpenAI in January 2026, failed to return a company-issued laptop. The engineer is accused of exploiting a previously unknown authentication vulnerability to maintain access to Apple's internal networks, downloading dozens of confidential files containing information on unreleased products, engineering demonstrations, and technical specifications. Apple states that upon discovering the continued network access, the engineer messaged another individual still employed at Apple, writing, "Haha, I found I can access [network storage], so funny."
Apple further accuses the former hardware design vice president of requesting that Apple job candidates bring physical components for demonstration and explanation during interviews. The executive is also alleged to have instructed departing employees on methods to circumvent Apple's security review procedures. The lawsuit notes that more than 400 former Apple employees are now employed at OpenAI.
An OpenAI spokesperson responded to the allegations by stating the company is "not interested in the trade secrets of other companies." Apple indicated it had contacted OpenAI in February of this year to express its concerns but received no response.
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