Apple Inc. formally filed a lawsuit with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on July 10, 2026, accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets and breaching contracts, marking a full-scale intensification of competition between the two tech giants in the field of artificial intelligence.

In the complaint, Apple stated that OpenAI's senior leadership—including Tang Tan, former vice president of product design for Apple's iPhone and Apple Watch, and current chief hardware officer at OpenAI—was involved in systematic acts of espionage. It is alleged that they used Apple's confidential project codes during hiring processes, requested job candidates to bring Apple hardware components to interviews, and guided departing employees to bypass company security procedures.

Apple

Additionally, Liu Chang, a former senior systems electrical engineer at Apple, is accused of using an unreturned Apple laptop to download confidential technical documents containing unpublished technical specifications, engineering demonstrations, and project data after leaving Apple in 2026 and joining OpenAI, and leaking them to former colleagues. Apple claims that ongoing investigations show that OpenAI and its partners have used Apple's confidential information in their developing hardware products, including a proprietary metal surface treatment technology. Currently, OpenAI is actively advancing the development of its first hardware product through its recent $6.5 billion acquisition of the device startup io.

Industry analysis suggests that this device may be a smartphone that does not rely on applications and is entirely based on AI agents, posing a significant threat to Apple's core hardware business. In response, Apple issued a statement saying it will resolutely protect its team's innovative achievements and has applied to the court to prohibit OpenAI from using or disclosing its trade secrets. OpenAI publicly responded on X, stating that it has no interest in other companies' trade secrets and will continue to focus on innovation and R&D. The outcome of this case may reshape the competitive landscape of the AI hardware ecosystem.