Apple counterattacks exposed! Former OpenAI employee leaked secrets and left for Apple with more than 100 product secrets

According to the latest court documents filed, OpenAI accused an employee who left the company and switched to Apple (Apple) of sending more than 100 confidential files related to unreleased products to his personal mailbox, and then showed the relevant content to Apple executives.

Reuters reported that OpenAI alleged in a complaint submitted to the federal court in San Jose, California, that the incident occurred several months ago. OpenAI also pointed out that Apple is currently developing its own artificial intelligence (AI) products, citing the smart home hub device HomeView released by Apple this week as an example.

Please read on...

OpenAI stated in the complaint: "OpenAI is extremely concerned that its trade secrets and confidential information are now being circulated within Apple, allowing Apple engineers to design future Apple products based on OpenAI's confidential information and innovations."

In response, Apple said that the company has established relevant policies and procedures to ensure that new employees will not use confidential information from their former employers, and that no evidence has been found to support OpenAI's accusations.

The complaint, filed on the 13th, is part of the ongoing business secrets litigation between the two parties. Apple filed a lawsuit earlier this year, accusing some employees of taking confidential information to OpenAI's hardware division after they left Apple. OpenAI denies the accusations.

The accusations leveled against each other highlight the increasingly fierce competition between the two technology companies for talent and intellectual property rights. As OpenAI actively enters the consumer hardware market, which has long been dominated by Apple, competition between the two parties has further heated up.

According to another court document made public on the 14th, Apple’s lawyers pointed out in a letter to OpenAI on the 12th of this month that the two sets of private phone numbers OpenAI referred to as receiving the files did not match the phone numbers used by the employee while working at Apple. Therefore, Apple believes that the information sent to these numbers while the employee was still working at OpenAI should not be within Apple's possession, custody or control.

Apple's lawyers also stated that based on Apple's investigation of the employee's work-related code repository, there is currently no evidence that OpenAI files are stored on Apple servers. In addition, Apple did not know at the time that the employee had demonstrated OpenAI's unreleased products and therefore asked OpenAI to provide more information.

Apple pointed out in court documents that OpenAI did not respond to the above request and instead went to court directly. Despite this, Apple said it will continue to cooperate with OpenAI to investigate related allegations.

Earlier this week, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila partially granted Apple’s request, allowing Apple to obtain OpenAI’s digital files early in the proceedings.

Davila ruled that Apple can collect data from the devices of some former employees and take testimony from three of them on an expedited schedule, including two defendants in the case: former senior systems electrical engineer Chang Liu (transliteration) and former iPhone and Apple Watch product design vice president Tang Yew Tan (transliteration).

This case is expected to go to trial in October 2027, but OpenAI previously stated in court documents that it could be ready for trial as soon as June 2027.