Apple and OpenAI were, not long ago, partners. Apple integrated OpenAI’s technology into its devices starting in 2024, a deal that looked like a comfortable arrangement between a hardware giant and an AI powerhouse. Then OpenAI started building its own hardware. Now Apple is suing.
On July 10, 2026, Apple filed a 41-page federal lawsuit against OpenAI in the Northern District of California, alleging the company ran a coordinated campaign to steal trade secrets tied to its consumer hardware ambitions. OpenAI responded by saying it takes the lawsuit seriously but believes the allegations lack merit, and that it stands behind employee mobility and open competition.
What Apple is actually alleging
The complaint is not a vague accusation. Apple’s lawyers put specifics on the table.
The lawsuit names Tang Tan, OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer and a former Apple executive, as a central figure in the alleged scheme. Apple claims OpenAI solicited confidential information from both current and former Apple employees, including internal documents and physical prototypes.
