OpenAI swung back hard at Apple's allegations it stole trade secrets, saying that the iPhone maker was sloppy about securing files after employees left and denying that the employees it hired from Apple were involved in such theft.
In its most detailed comments to date on the litigation, the startup said in a blog post Monday evening that Apple misrepresented the companies' discussions from before Apple filed its July lawsuit.
"Apple is one of the greatest companies of all time, and built a reputation for obsessing over the smallest details. This careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit sadly doesn't live up to that reputation," OpenAI said in the blog post, adding that the company has a "common issue" of failing to lock up files when employees departed.
The post was published shortly after Apple formally asked a federal judge for a preliminary injunction to prevent OpenAI from continuing to develop devices it says are based on Apple's trade secrets. Apple also requested an expedited discovery schedule in the case and alleged in a court filing that nearly a dozen other former employees may have been involved in the purported theft.
Apple's lawsuit alleged three former employees who left to join OpenAI stole trade secrets, including OpenAI's chief hardware officer, Tang Tan, once a top hardware executive at Apple.
The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, also alleged that Chang Liu, a former Apple employee who left in January to join OpenAI, kept his Apple computer and downloaded confidential files, and arranged to have a former colleague share details about confidential Apple projects. That person joined OpenAI in April.
"OpenAI's nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations," Apple's complaint said, accusing the AI lab of "a pattern of theft."
In its blog post, OpenAI included screenshots of messages showing current Apple employees continuing to ask Liu questions about Apple work after he left. In one instance, an employee seeking information about shipping a product wrote, "Of course, I could ask several folks, but you are the best. Even if you don't work here anymore."
OpenAI said in the blog post that it would have worked with Apple to resolve its concerns, but said the company didn't raise specific allegations at the time and didn't contact OpenAI for months after its first outreach.
Apple said in its filing Monday that OpenAI didn't respond to messages to its general counsel or to a letter articulating concerns about trade secrets leaking and asking to discuss possible remedies.
Apple alleged in its lawsuit that Tan probed job candidates still working for Apple for information on its projects, and that OpenAI coached former Apple employees on how to evade security procedures. It also said OpenAI asked its partners and suppliers about Apple's proprietary metal-finishing technique and device components.
OpenAI said in the blog post that Tan has always told his team that they "do not want, and must not use" confidential information from other companies.
Liu and Tan didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
In its filing Monday, Apple said its investigation "has uncovered information that raises serious concerns about other former Apple employees," including one who took screenshots of confidential Apple documents before an OpenAI interview. The company also said it heard from former employees now with OpenAI who reached out to discuss returning their Apple-issued work devices after the company filed its lawsuit.
Rather than take other companies' trade secrets, OpenAI said on its blog, "We're much more interested in building innovative products and technologies that push the frontier."
Last year, OpenAI acquired a startup co-founded by former Apple design guru Jony Ive, and Ive and company executives including Chief Executive Sam Altman discussed plans to produce a family of AI devices. Altman has discussed plans to ship as many as 100 million AI "companions." Its first consumer device is expected to be screenless and unobtrusive.
The relationship between the two companies has deteriorated since they forged an early partnership in 2024 that allowed OpenAI's ChatGPT to connect with Apple's Siri voice assistant.
Apple has since struck an expansive deal with Google and has used the company's Gemini model to help develop many of its new AI features, including an upgraded Siri. OpenAI considered sending a breach-of-contract notice to Apple for not promoting ChatGPT within Siri, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
The Wall Street Journal's parent company, News Corp, has a content deal with OpenAI. News Corp also has a commercial agreement to supply news through Apple services.
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