Apple sues OpenAI, accusing ChatGPT maker of stealing trade secrets
Apple alleges that OpenAI and two of its employees stole trade secrets and engaged in a "pattern of misconduct."
Updated on: July 10, 2026 / 6:02 PM EDT / CBS News
Apple on Friday sued ChatGPT maker OpenAI and two of the firm's executives, alleging that it stole Apple's trade secrets to gain an edge in the AI arms race.
The civil suit, filed in the Northern District of California, accuses OpenAI Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan and Chang Liu, a technical staffer at the company, of stealing Apple's proprietary information to help OpenAI develop its own hardware. Both OpenAI employees formerly worked at Apple, according to the suit.
Apple also accused OpenAI of engaging in a "coordinated pattern of misconduct at an institutional level."
"This case is about Apple's former employees stealing Apple's trade secrets for the benefit of OpenAI," the complaint states. "Apple brings this suit to put a stop to it."
While employed at Apple for more than two decades, Tan helped design the iPhone, Apple Watch and iPod, according to the lawsuit. The suit also alleges that Liu, a former Apple electrical engineer for eight years, was privy to some of the technology giant's most sensitive product development information.