OpenAI alleges ex-employee took unreleased device files to Apple
OpenAI claims a former employee who joined Apple sent more than 100 files on an unreleased product to a personal account and later presented it to Apple leaders.
OpenAI has accused a former employee who moved to Apple of taking confidential material about an unreleased product, according to a filing submitted on October 13, 2026, in US federal court in San Jose, California. The company alleges the person forwarded more than 100 files to a personal account and later briefed senior Apple leadership on the product.
According to OpenAI, the presentation took place months ago. The ChatGPT maker argued that Apple is now building AI products of its own, pointing to the launch of Apple's HomeView product this week. In the filing, OpenAI said it was very concerned that its "trade secret and confidential information is now circulating inside Apple," where engineers could draw on it for future products.
Apple rejected the claims. It said it has policies and procedures designed to stop new hires from using confidential information belonging to former employers, and that it has found no evidence supporting OpenAI's allegations.
A dispute Apple started
The filing is part of a trade secrets case that Apple brought against OpenAI earlier this year. Apple alleges that some of its own staff left and carried confidential information to OpenAI's hardware division, which OpenAI denies. The two companies had been scheduled to meet in court on October 14, but the new allegation pushed that hearing back. OpenAI said it may file a countersuit based on the latest claim.
Earlier in the same week, US District Judge Edward Davila partly granted Apple's request for early access to digital files from OpenAI. He ruled that Apple may collect data from devices belonging to some of its former employees and depose three of them on an accelerated schedule. Those three include the case's two defendants: Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer, and Tang Yew Tan, a former vice president of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch.
Trial expected in 2027
The case is expected to reach trial in October 2027, although OpenAI has told the court it could be ready as early as June 2027.
The fight highlights how intense competition over AI-powered consumer devices has become. With OpenAI pushing into hardware and Apple expanding its own AI lineup, the movement of engineers between the two companies has turned into a legal battleground over who owns the ideas they carry.
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