OpenAI claims former employee sent over 100 confidential files about unreleased device to Apple
In a new court filing in the ongoing trade secrets case between Apple and OpenAI, OpenAI accuses a former employee of sending more than 100 confidential files about an unreleased device to a personal account — allegedly in part on his last day of work — and later presenting the product to Apple's senior leadership. The filing, submitted in federal court in San Jose, delayed a scheduled court hearing and signals that OpenAI may raise counterclaims. All of the claims come from OpenAI's own account; Apple rejects them, and there is no public documentation that Apple used any of the information.
What the filing alleges
According to reporting from Reuters, cited by outlets including The Guardian and Gizmodo, OpenAI accuses a former employee of transferring more than 100 confidential files related to an unreleased device to personal accounts. The employee is said to have worked at Apple, spent roughly six months at OpenAI, and then returned to the iPhone maker. Some of the files were allegedly transferred on June 2 — his final day at OpenAI, according to Gizmodo's account of the filing.
OpenAI further claims that the files contained detailed images of at least one unreleased device, engineering data, manufacturing details, and supplier information. In addition, the employee is said to have — according to OpenAI, several months ago — delivered a presentation on the unreleased product to Apple's senior leadership.
The filing states, as quoted by Gizmodo: "OpenAI is very concerned that its trade secret and confidential information is now circulating inside Apple, where Apple engineers can shape Apple's upcoming products based on OpenAI's confidential and innovative work."
It is important to stress: this is OpenAI's account in a court filing, not allegations that have been verified by the court. The former employee is not named in any of the sources.
Procedural effect: delayed hearing and possible counterclaim
The hearing between the companies had been scheduled for the Wednesday after the filing was submitted on Tuesday, but the new salvo delayed the hearing, Reuters reports via The Guardian. OpenAI said it will ask the court for leave to investigate the allegations further, and that the company may pursue counterclaims against Apple based on the new accusation. It is unclear whether such a counterclaim has actually been filed.
The background: Apple's July lawsuit
The new filing must be seen in light of a lawsuit Apple filed against OpenAI in July. In that case, Apple accused OpenAI and two former Apple employees of stealing trade secrets related to the company's manufacturing processes and products under development. OpenAI has denied those allegations.
The two former Apple employees being sued are Chang Liu, a former senior systems electrical engineer, and Tang Yew Tan, a former vice president of product design with responsibility for the iPhone and Apple Watch. The lawsuit also targets io, the hardware startup founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, which OpenAI acquired for $6.5 billion last year. The context is thus twofold: Apple claims its former employees carried trade secrets over to OpenAI's hardware venture, while OpenAI now claims that information has flowed in the opposite direction.
What the court has decided
The same week the new filing arrived, Judge Edward Davila issued a ruling on expedited discovery in the case. According to TechCrunch, Apple prevailed in its request that OpenAI's hiring documents be handed over on a fast track: the court gave OpenAI five days to produce already-collected materials and 14 days for the remaining materials related to the claim.
Davila also granted Apple the right to collect data from certain former employees' devices and to conduct three streamlined depositions, including of the two defendants — Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, Reuters reports.
At the same time, the judge denied several of Apple's broader requests for expedited discovery. Apple was not granted fast access to OpenAI's research and development in specific areas, such as metal finishes and power management, or to OpenAI's hardware research more generally, TechCrunch reports. The denial is not, however, final.
Apple's response
Apple has rejected OpenAI's allegations. The company told Reuters that it has procedures designed to prevent new hires from using confidential information from previous employers, and that Apple has found no evidence supporting OpenAI's accusations.
Open questions
Several matters remain unresolved. First, OpenAI has not publicly documented that Apple actually incorporated any of the allegedly confidential information into its own products, as Reuters reports via MSN syndication. Second, OpenAI points in the filing to Apple's launch of the HomeView product that same week as evidence that Apple is now developing its own AI products — but this is OpenAI's own argument about timing, not documentation of wrongdoing. The sources emphasize that the timing of the HomeView launch does not establish that Apple's device contains technology belonging to OpenAI.
Third, the identity of the former employee is unknown, and it is unclear what became of the delayed hearing and whether OpenAI is actually seeking to file counterclaims. Finally, the forward timeline is partly unclear: the case will likely go to trial in October 2027, but OpenAI has claimed in court filings that it could be ready for trial as early as June 2027.
The case is thus moving quickly on both fronts — with expedited discovery granted in Apple's favor and an escalating counter-narrative from OpenAI — while the core of both sides' allegations remains unproven.