OpenAI has issued a formal statement in response to Apple’s lawsuit accusing the company of trade secret theft. Read it below.
Earlier today, Apple filed a lawsuit against former employees Chang Liu and Tang Tan, as well as OpenAI and io Products, alleging “trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract.”
In it, Apple accuses its former employees of stealing confidential hardware information and using it to advance OpenAI’s nascent consumer hardware efforts.
The company details what it describes as “a pattern of theft of Apple’s trade secrets by OpenAI employees who were formerly at Apple,” adding that “such misconduct is normalized and exemplified by leadership.”
Apple claims that, in addition to accessing its systems and confidential files without authorization, the defendants encouraged job candidates to bring Apple prototypes and components to interviews, disclose details about unreleased products and manufacturing processes, and help OpenAI approach Apple suppliers using proprietary information.
Apple’s lawsuit goes into great detail about the alleged misconduct, and you can read the company’s full complaint here.
Following Apple’s filing, OpenAI’s Director of Strategic Communications, Drew Pusateri, took to X to comment on the company’s behalf.
In his post, he claims OpenAI has “no interest in other companies’ trade secrets,” adding that OpenAI remains “focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.”
Our statement in response to this suit: We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere. https://t.co/lIxGW6hyz5
Should note that this is not how a well run company would ever respond. Generally, the lawyers would write up a statement and it would get released though official channels. The fact that it came out on X with the content it did is consistent with the company’s fast and loose policy when it comes to other people’s IP.
This is not the first time OpenAI’s hardware efforts with Jony Ive-led io Products have become entangled in a trade-secret dispute.
Hardware startup iyO initially sued OpenAI and io Products over their branding shortly after the partnership was announced, then amended its complaint in March 2026 to add allegations of trade secret misappropriation.
The amended lawsuit also named Tang Tan as a defendant, alleging that a former iyO engineer downloaded confidential files and provided them to the former Apple executive. OpenAI has also disputed iyO’s allegations.
To learn more about Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI, follow this link.
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Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s.
He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.
