Apple Accuses OpenAI of 'Show and Tell' Trade Secret Theft

Apple has filed a blistering 41-page lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging a coordinated campaign to plunder trade secrets as the AI startup races to build its first hardware device. The complaint centers on three former Apple employees—ex-Apple Watch VP Tang Tan and engineers Chang Liu and Yu-Ting ‘Alyssa’ Peng—who now work at OpenAI. The allegations read less like a corporate dispute and more like a spy thriller.

The lawsuit claims OpenAI’s hardware chief, Tan, turned job interviews into espionage sessions. He allegedly asked Apple candidates to bring physical components from unreleased projects for ‘show and tell’ sessions, quizzing them on batteries, main logic boards, and shielding. In one instance recounted in the filing, Liu allegedly told Peng another former employee ‘fumbled’ answers about a top-secret Apple product. Liu then said he downloaded ‘some info’ from Apple’s network to help prep her.

Apple also accuses Liu of refusing to return company hardware after his departure in 2024, then exploiting an unknown authentication vulnerability to access cloud storage weeks later. ‘LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny,’ Liu allegedly messaged Peng, who replied, ‘I’m ready.’ He downloaded dozens of confidential files, including engineering presentations on logic board manufacturing. Meanwhile, Peng is accused of feeding Liu a steady stream of insider project details while he built competing hardware at OpenAI.

OpenAI acquired Jony Ive’s hardware venture, io, last year and appointed Tan as chief hardware officer. The first fruits of that AI device push are expected next year, which makes the timing of this alleged talent-and-secrets grab from the world’s most valuable company particularly explosive. Tan previously admitted receiving confidential information about another AI hardware startup before joining io. The pattern Apple paints suggests OpenAI’s hardware ambitions may have a foundation built on stolen blueprints.