Apple Sues OpenAI for Hardware Espionage as the AI Device Race Turns Adversarial

2. Apple Sues OpenAI for Hardware Espionage as the AI Device Race Turns Adversarial

Apple filed a blockbuster lawsuit against OpenAI accusing the company of orchestrating a systematic trade-secret theft campaign tied to OpenAI's first AI hardware device, expected in 2027. The 41-page complaint centers on three former Apple employees: Tang Tan, a 24-year Apple veteran and former VP of Apple Watch who now serves as OpenAI's chief hardware officer; Chang Liu, a systems electrical engineer on iPhone who joined OpenAI in January 2026; and Yu-Ting "Alyssa" Peng, who joined OpenAI in April 2026. Among the most serious allegations: OpenAI's hardware head asked Apple job candidates to bring unreleased components and product samples to interviews as a condition of the process. Apple also claims Liu retained an Apple-owned computer after departure, accessed Apple's cloud storage through an undisclosed authentication vulnerability weeks after leaving, and coached Peng on avoiding internal security checks.

The strategic stakes here go beyond one lawsuit. OpenAI's acquisition of Jony Ive's hardware company io last year signaled a direct move into physical AI devices, putting it on a collision course with Apple's core business for the first time. If Apple's allegations hold up, they would show that OpenAI treated the recruiting pipeline as an intelligence-gathering operation at precisely the moment it needed Apple's hardware expertise most. That flips the dynamic of the two companies' existing partnership, under which Apple integrated ChatGPT into Siri and iOS 18. A court finding of deliberate espionage would almost certainly end that arrangement and hand Apple grounds to terminate cooperation entirely.

Watch for two things: whether Apple seeks an injunction that could delay or constrain OpenAI's hardware timeline, and how other large hardware makers with AI ambitions, Google, Samsung, Meta, now assess their own exposure when employees depart for AI-native competitors.

Source: The 6 wildest claims in Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI