The American giant Apple took OpenAI to court on Friday, accusing several of its former employees of having transmitted confidential information to the Californian start-up, after being recruited by it.
This legal action marks a dramatic escalation of tensions between the two companies, which joined forces in 2024 to integrate ChatGPT, OpenAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) interface, into Apple products. Their relationship has since deteriorated significantly.
The court document, filed in a federal court in San Jose (California), describes a “strategy” by OpenAI “to extract confidential information” from Apple. In a press release, an OpenAI spokesperson said that the company “is not interested in the confidential information of other firms”, while letting it be known that it is still studying what it is accused of.
In addition to the OpenAI company, two former Apple executives are specifically targeted by the procedure, including Tang Tan, co-founder of the start-up io Products with Jony Ive, former head of product design for the Apple brand. Io Products was acquired by OpenAI in May 2025 for $6.5 billion, a major step in the diversification of the creator of ChatGPT, which plans to launch, by 2027, a family of AI-centric devices.
According to Apple, Tang Tan took internal documents with him when he left the company in 2024. Now responsible for physical products at OpenAI, he would actively seek to recover additional data from Apple employees who are applying for a position within the AI flagship, according to the court document.
“Top of the iceberg”
Another Apple veteran, Chang Liu, is accused of keeping internal devices after leaving the company in 2026 and continuing to access the internal computer network. “As more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, it is not surprising that some have knowledge of confidential and protected information,” acknowledges the consumer electronics giant.
“But OpenAI decided to exploit this information,” says the creator of the iPhone. Apple called its findings the “tip of the iceberg,” saying it has only a limited view of what’s happening at OpenAI. For the company, these supposed maneuvers are part of OpenAI’s development of its physical devices, an area in which the AI laboratory has no prior experience.
Apple is asking the court to prohibit OpenAI from using confidential information from its former or current employees, as well as damages without setting the amount. “We will always champion the hard work and innovations of our teams and we are taking appropriate steps to do so,” Apple told AFP.
This legal action risks complicating the situation for OpenAI at a time when it is preparing a highly anticipated IPO. For the company, valued at around $852 billion, diversification into the field of consumer devices is seen as a considerable growth lever.
