OpenAI has alleged in a new court filing that an employee who left the ChatGPT maker for Apple sent more than 100 files about an unreleased product to a personal account. The company also claims the employee later presented that product to senior Apple leadership.
The filing was submitted in US federal court in San Jose, California. OpenAI said the presentation took place months ago and pointed to the release of Apple’s HomeView product this week as evidence that Apple is now developing its own AI products.
OpenAI warns its confidential work is circulating at Apple
In its filing, OpenAI said it is very concerned that its trade secrets and confidential information are now inside Apple. The company argued that Apple engineers could use its confidential work to shape the iPhone maker’s upcoming products.
Apple said it has policies and procedures to stop new hires from using confidential information from former employers. It said it has found no evidence supporting OpenAI’s allegations.
Apple says no evidence of OpenAI files on its servers
An October 12 letter from Apple’s lawyers to OpenAI, made public in another court filing on Wednesday, disputed the claims. The lawyers said the two personal phone numbers OpenAI identified as recipients of the files did not match the number the employee used for his Apple work. As a result, Apple said it did not appear to have control of data sent to those numbers while he worked at OpenAI.
The letter also said Apple’s investigation of repositories linked to the employee’s work had found no evidence so far of OpenAI files on its servers. Apple said it had not learned of any presentation about unreleased OpenAI products and had asked OpenAI for more information. According to the letter, OpenAI did not respond and instead went to court.
The filing is part of a wider trade secret dispute that Apple brought earlier this year. Apple alleged that employees who left the iPhone maker took confidential information to OpenAI’s hardware division, and OpenAI has denied those claims. Apple said it will continue working with OpenAI to investigate the new allegations.
Judge grants Apple partial early access to digital files
Earlier this week, US District Court Judge Edward Davila granted part of Apple’s request for early access to digital files from OpenAI. He said Apple could gather data from some former employees’ devices. He also allowed Apple to depose three people on an accelerated schedule.
Those three include the two defendants in the case, Chang Liu, a former senior systems electrical engineer, and Tang Yew Tan, a former vice president of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch. The case is likely to go to trial in October 2027, although OpenAI has said in court filings that it could be ready as early as June 2027.
