# Apple Files $40B Lawsuit Against OpenAI for Alleged Trade Secret Theft

> Apple has filed a 41-page complaint in Northern California accusing OpenAI of orchestrating the theft of hardware trade secrets. The suit claims former Apple vice president Tang Tan directed staff to bring Apple devices to job interviews for informal show and tell sessions, and that one departing employee, Chang Liu, downloaded dozens of confidential files on unreleased products before leaving. Apple further alleges OpenAI coached employees on slipping past internal security, in one case encouraging someone to walk out with a company laptop. The reported 40 billion dollar figure is eye-catching, but the more interesting story is the relationship behind it. The two companies once partnered to weave ChatGPT into Apple's software, only for Apple to hand its flagship Apple Intelligence work to Google instead. With more than 400 former Apple employees now at OpenAI, the lawsuit reads as much about talent drain and clashing hardware ambitions as about any single stolen file. For readers, it is a reminder that the AI race is increasingly fought over people and devices, not just models, and that the courts may soon shape who gets to build the next generation of AI hardware.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: Fortune · Published Tuesday, July 14, 2026_

## Wortins' read

Apple has filed a 41-page complaint in Northern California accusing OpenAI of orchestrating the theft of hardware trade secrets. The suit claims former Apple vice president Tang Tan directed staff to bring Apple devices to job interviews for informal show and tell sessions, and that one departing employee, Chang Liu, downloaded dozens of confidential files on unreleased products before leaving. Apple further alleges OpenAI coached employees on slipping past internal security, in one case encouraging someone to walk out with a company laptop. The reported 40 billion dollar figure is eye-catching, but the more interesting story is the relationship behind it. The two companies once partnered to weave ChatGPT into Apple's software, only for Apple to hand its flagship Apple Intelligence work to Google instead. With more than 400 former Apple employees now at OpenAI, the lawsuit reads as much about talent drain and clashing hardware ambitions as about any single stolen file. For readers, it is a reminder that the AI race is increasingly fought over people and devices, not just models, and that the courts may soon shape who gets to build the next generation of AI hardware.

## Source

[Read the full story at Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/07/10/apple-openai-lawsuit-trade-secrets-theft-allegations/)

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