According to a report by Sarah Perez on TechCrunch, the trade secrets lawsuit filed by Apple against OpenAI reveals a series of extraordinary allegations. The 41-page complaint, filed on Friday, describes a coordinated effort to extract confidential information from current and former Apple employees. One of the most striking features of the lawsuit is the way the alleged misconduct is described as routine, including a text message that reads: "LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny."
Top-Down Corporate Culture and Hardware Ambitions Rotten to the Core
In the complaint, Apple makes it clear that the lawsuit is not focused solely on isolated rogue employees. The company claims that this misconduct is part of OpenAI's corporate culture and is "normalized and exemplified by leadership," meaning it is led directly from the highest ranks of the company.
Apple uses a rotten fruit analogy to criticize OpenAI’s conduct. According to the report, OpenAI is rumored to be working on developing its own hardware device to challenge the iPhone, potentially a standalone smartphone. Apple emphasizes that this product was allegedly built using its trade secrets, noting in the complaint: "OpenAI’s nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets."
Tip of the Iceberg and Incriminating Messages on Storage Access
Beyond documenting specific cases, Apple suggests that the described actions are only a fraction of the true scope that will be uncovered later. Apple estimates that the legal discovery process—under which internal OpenAI documents and communications, including texts and emails, will be obtained—will reveal many more instances. The complaint states: "Discovery will expose that the misappropriation has been occurring on a scale many times greater than the several instances described below."
One of the prominent revelations concerns exchanges of messages between former employees. According to Apple, Chang Liu, who worked as a senior systems electrical engineer at Apple before moving to OpenAI, sent the text message about accessing network storage to an Apple employee named Yu-Ting “Alyssa” Peng. Peng allegedly served as a conduit for transferring information between the companies, and later went to work at OpenAI herself (she is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit). Peng allegedly replied to the message with: "I'm ready." Apple claims that Liu exploited an authentication bug to access its systems using Peng's work computer. Just hours after leaving Apple, Liu wrote in another message: "I still have another computer," referring to another Apple computer he planned to use. This message was discovered by Apple on Peng's work laptop.
Demanding Original Parts and Drawings in "Show and Tell" Sessions
Another extraordinary allegation is that OpenAI job candidates who were employed at Apple were instructed to bring original Apple parts with them to job interviews for "show and tell sessions." According to the lawsuit, OpenAI's chief hardware officer, Tang Yew Tan (who spent 24 years at Apple and served as Vice President of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch), was the one who instructed candidates to do so. One candidate was surprised by the request and noted that he didn't even know that such parts could be taken out of the office. Apple claims that employees were also instructed to bring computer-aided design (CAD) drawings and prototypes to interviews.
Coaching Departing Employees and Evading the "Secured Walkout" Mechanism
The lawsuit claims that OpenAI coached departing employees on how to evade Apple's security procedures to prevent the theft of trade secrets from being caught. It is alleged that OpenAI circulated an internal Apple document to new hires, classified as "Need to know," which details how to avoid the secured exit process from the building (referred to as the "dreaded walkout") executed immediately upon giving notice of departure. This process prevents them from continuing to work during their typical two-week notice period, a time that would have allowed them further access to information. In addition, OpenAI instructed employees to update it immediately ("asap") if they were asked to sign any document during their exit interview at Apple, advising them not to sign.
Transfer of Hundreds of Employees, Acquisition of io, and Attempts to Negotiate
The lawsuit reveals that over 400 former Apple employees are currently employed at OpenAI. Apple uses this figure to illustrate the scale of the problem and notes that OpenAI actively exploits the confidential knowledge in their possession. Another notable defendant is the design firm io, which was founded by former Apple employees, including Jony Ive, and was acquired last year by OpenAI in a $6.5 billion deal. Apple claims that io used its industrial design techniques, processes, and metal-finishing know-how, while misleading an Apple partner into believing it had permission to use this confidential metal-finishing technique. Additionally, Apple claims that OpenAI approached its supplier using Apple's confidential information about design and components of power and battery systems, using internal terminology that only Apple insiders would know to ask.
According to Apple, the company tried to resolve the situation out of court and first approached OpenAI in February, but received no response, leaving it with "no choice" but to sue. On the other hand, OpenAI has officially responded only through a statement shared on X, which reads: "We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere."