Apple sued OpenAI on Friday, alleging the AI company has stolen the iPhone maker’s trade secrets to develop its own yet-to-be-unveiled AI gadgets.
In the suit, filed in the District Court of Northern California, Apple accuses OpenAI of trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract.
OpenAI last year announced it has been working with Jony Ive, who served as Apple’s design chief until 2019, on a hush-hush project to build devices meant to bring smartphone users into the age of AI. (The suit does not name Ive as a defendant or accuse him of wrongdoing.)
The device is expected to be unveiled later this year – but the lawsuit could throw a wrench into those plans. The suit could also complicate OpenAI’s plans to go public soon in a massive, hotly anticipated IPO.
CNN has reached out to OpenAI for comment.
