Apple sues OpenAI, OpenAI responds by posting Apple employee conversations
Apple sued OpenAI for allegedly using its trade secrets by ex-Apple engineer Chang Liu. OpenAI said it has evidence that Apple employees continued reaching out to Liu for schematics and assistance after his departure.
Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in California federal court claiming that former Apple engineer Chang Liu misappropriated Apple’s trade secrets. The company posted screenshots of iMessages between current Apple employees who contacted Liu after he left the company. In one message dated Jan. 27, 2026, an Apple employee requested a technical assessment. Another message dated Feb. 14 requested schematics. After joining an Apple group chat in March, Liu replied “this is highly irregular” and asked to be removed.
More than 400 former Apple employees work at OpenAI, and this lawsuit is tied to their joint venture with Jony Ive’s io Products hardware startup. It’s just the latest instance of AI startups battling it out in plain sight.
Source: the-decoder.com
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Author
Evgenii Arsentev
PhD · Chief Executive Officer, digital health
Articles · Latest articles