Apple's OpenAI lawsuit follows months of simmering tensions and highlights OpenAI's hardware chief Tang Tan's strained relationship with former boss John Ternus

When iPhone engineer Chang Liu quit for a job at OpenAI's nascent hardware division, Apple Inc. says he left with more than just years of experience.

Bloomberg 2026-07-11 Mark Gurman

Context & Ripple Effects

The related coverage traces an escalation from individual Apple engineers joining OpenAI’s hardware effort to Apple’s allegations that interviewees were asked to share confidential information. It also places Tang Tan—a former Apple vice president now leading OpenAI hardware—at the center of the dispute.

The lawsuit turns a personnel rivalry around OpenAI’s nascent hardware division into a formal legal conflict between two major technology companies.

First-order effects

Apple’s claims put OpenAI, Tang Tan and the hiring of former Apple personnel under immediate legal and reputational scrutiny; the allegations remain unproven.
Apple can use the case to seek protection for alleged confidential hardware materials, while OpenAI’s hardware recruiting and onboarding practices face heightened attention.

Second-order effects

OpenAI and other companies building hardware teams from established device makers may tighten interview, recruiting and access controls to reduce trade-secret exposure.
Apple’s remaining hardware staff and prospective recruits could face more restrictive confidentiality enforcement, increasing friction in an already contested talent market.

Third-order effects

If disputes of this kind proliferate, competition to build AI hardware may increasingly be fought through trade-secret governance and employee-mobility litigation as well as product development.
The case could test how far companies can go in protecting device-development knowledge when former executives and engineering teams move into emerging AI-hardware organizations.

The trend: This is one data point in the collision between AI companies’ push into dedicated hardware and incumbent device makers’ efforts to protect talent, know-how and product-roadmap secrecy.

Discussion

@sama Sam Altman on x
homeboy you're the one sellling public market investors on short-term space datacenters
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
He takes scamming to a whole new level
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
I am sometimes really surprised by how dumb very highly paid people in tech can be. 1. Leave Apple 2. Start building hardware at OpenAI 3. Access confidential Apple files on hardware, from an unreturned Apple laptop 4. Expect... what? To get away with it? A damning lawsuit
@gerritd Gerrit De Vynck on x
The Apple lawsuit against OpenAI is the most aggressive and intense I've seen since Waymo/Uber. Apple is saying OpenAI has been trying to rip them off cold and the whole OAI hardware drive is built on Apple IP This is a way bigger deal to OpenAI than the Elon lawsuit was IMO
@signulll @signulll on x
the coolest potential part of this case if it is not settled is that the internal emails guy account on here will have an absolute field day when discovery happens. i absolutely love reading internal company emails.
@app_settings @app_settings on x
just read the details of the Apple v. OpenAI suit and wow, this is insane what stands out to me the most is that the people involved were at Apple for YEARS, Tang having worked there for nearly 25 years i could never imagine stealing from a place i helped build for so long... [im…
@ronaldmannak Ronald Mannak on x
We already have enough drama for the next The Social Network. Opening scene: a young Sam Altman presenting his first startup Loopt during Apple's 2008 keynote. Who would've guessed he'd end up as the movie's villain? [image]
@beffjezos @beffjezos on x
Apple should acquire Thinking Machines and go to all out war with OpenAI and put that war chest to good use
@forgebitz Klaas on x
imagine steve jobs seeing openai poaching employees from apple chatgpt would be gone from iphones before monday
@leakerapple @leakerapple on x
Steve would burn OpenAI to the ground. Tim, make us proud and crush OpenAI before you go.
@firstadopter Tae Kim on x
History is filled with examples of slow, blumbering incumbents that can't execute or get out of their own way (see Apple Car, Vision Pro) suing up-and-coming innovative disrupters. It's a huge red flag of weakness. As @dylan522p would say, total loser mentality
@sahilypatel Sahil on x
apple is probably the last company you want to fight in court they've got some of the best lawyers in tech and $140b in cash apple doesn't file nor lose lawsuits very often. they definitely have a very strong case and will fight this aggressively. this is not going to end well
@edludlow Ed Ludlow on x
Apple is seeking: · A jury trial. · An order requiring OpenAI to stop the alleged misuse of Apple's trade secrets. · Destruction of any Apple proprietary materials in OpenAI's possession. · Redesign of upcoming OpenAI hardware products so they do not incorporate Apple's techn…
@bonegpt Bone on x
apple's openAI case is so bearish for oAI. apple controls the most valuable surface. they are accusing the whole company, not just some ex employees. if discovery shows openAI really does act like this who will want to deal with them? apple has huge leverage right now, bet sam
@katiemiller Katie Miller on x
OpenAI's last 24 hours: > Top Exec unexpectedly departs > Shuts down browser tool after 9 months > Sued for trade theft by Apple > Caught selling product to China against sanctions
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
At the heart of Apple's suit against OpenAI is former iPhone chief Tang Tan, who was famous for “flying very close to the sun,” according to a person who worked with him. “Tang is well known for moving fast, playing fast and loose and breaking things.” https://www.bloomberg.com/.…
@paularambles @paularambles on x
the worst possible name for a company in a lawsuit: i owe [image]
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
When OpenAI bought Tan's AI startup for $6.5 billion last year, the company had little to show beyond concepts and early prototypes. With OpenAI racing to an IPO, the pressure was on. Now they're looking at a phone but that likely won't be their first device.
@damonspiegel Damon on x
I spent some time with Sam Altman a few summers ago. After my chat, I cancelled my Chat GPT subscription and have never used it since. There was something about my conversation that just rubbed me the wrong way. This was the summer of 23. I continue to hear of more and more
@zackkorman Zack Korman on x
The Apple v OpenAI case is a good reminder that everyone sucks at insider threat detection. [image]
@patrickmoorhead Patrick Moorhead on x
The Apple- OpenAI lawsuit filing is troubling, and if true, the two employees should be fired immediately and face the justice system. But... Apple doesn't like its employees to leave and other employees following them out the door. Remember when Apple sued Nuvia founder
@garymarcus Gary Marcus on x
and let's not forget, liar.
@leakerapple @leakerapple on x
Apple seems to be the only Mega-corp left that seems to have a soul. I hope Ternus keeps this going.
@doganuraldesign Dogan Ural on x
If Apple removed ChatGPT from store today And ChatGPT was only available on OpenAI's new devices... Would you switch to a new device? Or would you simply stick with your iPhone and use other AI apps instead?
@scobleizer Robert Scoble on x
OpenAI getting sued by Apple could lead to delays in OpenAI's hardware plans, MG surmises. Reading the evidence sure looks damning. Funny one of the times I met Steve Jobs when I worked for Microsoft he said “nice to meet the folks copying us.” Either way glad I don't work
@signulll @signulll on x
just so that this is clear, apple is suing openai & io, the company founded by its own former chief design officer, jony ive. you genuinely could not write an episode of the ai wars this dramatic. that script would be rejected for being too on the nose. can you imagine steve j…
@tomfgoodwin Tom Goodwin on x
Craziest part is the idea OpenAI should make hardware.
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Notably, Tan and incoming Apple CEO John Ternus have had a rocky relationship for years. The vast majority of the 400 people poached by OpenAI came from Ternus's division, while Tan wanted the head of hardware engineering role over him five years ago.
@sahilypatel Sahil on x
apple has the chance to do the funniest thing ever [image]
@universeice @universeice on x
Apple has had three major incidents in a row lately: a CEO transition, the Tata supply chain data leak in India, and its lawsuit accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets. I can't help but feel these aren't just random coincidences. They all seem to point to the same underlying
@katiemiller Katie Miller on x
Sam Altman, thief.
@biohazard3737 @biohazard3737 on x
Hope Apple succeeds at taking everything from him. Incredible level of betrayal. Would really trigger my sense of justice if he ended up being a billionaire based on pure thievery.
@anshelsag Anshel Sag on x
The whole OpenAI v Apple dispute has been slowly boiling to this point. Apple has been poaching so many of Apple's people (ignoring Ive). Not to mention the souring of the Siri partnership. This is going to be a major tech story for quite some time.
@financedircfo Alastair Thomson on x
I can only hope this bankrupts OpenAI. It's no less than they deserve.
@bluthcapital @bluthcapital on x
“A few months after that initial 2013 meeting, $AAPL hired Masimo's chief medical officer. Later it added a top engineer who was working at a Masimo spinoff, as well as dozens of other Masimo employees.” [image]
@garymarcus Gary Marcus on x
breaking: company built on stolen IP and lies allegedly steals more IP
@morningbrew @morningbrew on x
What a quote... “LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny” [image]
@andrewhart Andrew Hart on x
y'know, just some “former Apple leaders” [image]
@raywongy Ray Wong on x
Simple: you're greedy *and* stupid
@niccruzpatane Nic Cruz Patane on x
Maybe it's time for companies to think twice about working with Jony Ive. He's responsible for nearly ruining Ferrari's reputation overnight with the Luce. Now, he's named in a lawsuit over OpenAI allegedly stealing trade secrets from Apple to make a new AI device, which he is [i…
@parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on x
never in a billion years would I have thought we'd see Jony Ive and Apple on opposite sides of a case, let alone one like this
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Also worth noting: Apple considers OpenAI's hardware a real threat, combining some of the best engineers with the best AI. Suing OpenAI for trade secret theft could seriously slow down or even completely alter OpenAI's ability to compete with Apple devices.
@mweinbach Max Weinbach on x
This really seems like the suit is against Liu and Tan personally and OAI by extension Apple seems to really be pushing Liu and Tan as the bad actors and OAI because it owns IO rather than OAI was asking them to do all of this stuff Nuance, but feels worth mentioning
@bubbleboi Bubble Boi on x
Lmaoooo cheating on the interview is like cherry on top here.
@tekbog @tekbog on x
everything gets leaked in sv but “bring your project to the interview to show and tell” is next level
@lexnfx Alexei Oreskovic on x
Apple's lawsuit lists IO Products as defendant but carefuly avoids naming Jony Ive, citing only Tang Tan and “other former Apple leaders” A nod to the indecorous optics of suing Ive? Or is the suit essentially Apple's way of doing a non-compete in California?
@batuhan @batuhan on x
we lost Jobs too early. oh the crash out would've been so delicious.
@playerinthgame @playerinthgame on x
Having been to Apple's campus for meetings, I can tell you they're out for blood. As locked down as their phones and OS. IP is their religion.
@neil_shah Neil Shah on x
Classic way to slow down the competition especially driven by former employees and with high chances the OpenAI devices might end up looking like Apple devices. Would be good to see more specifics of the alleged lawsuit on what IP infringement it highlights and how Apple knows
@ns123abc Nik on x
it's over [image]
@sama Sam Altman on x
@iliketeslas i am not afraid of apple, but i have tremendous respect for them. s-tier company.
@gbrl_dick Gabriel on x
the best way for apple to get back at openAI here would be to release an excellent and near-frontier model that is deeply integrated into iOS.
@gerritd Gerrit De Vynck on x
Major allegations about an Apple employee who joined OpenAI in Jan 2026, kept a laptop, found an exploit in Apple's systems and stole files over a multi-week time. This is similar to what Anthony Levandowski was accused of doing by Google back in 2018 [image]
@carlquintanilla Carl Quintanilla on bluesky
GURMAN: “.. Suing OpenAI for trade secret theft could seriously slow down or even completely alter OpenAI's ability to compete with Apple devices.” — @bloomberg.com $AAPL — www.bloomberg.com/news/article... [image]
r/siliconvalley r on reddit
OpenAI Engineer's ‘LOL’ Moment Set Stage for Legal Fight With Apple
r/law r on reddit
OpenAI Engineer's ‘LOL’ Moment Set Stage for Legal Fight With Apple
r/ArtificialInteligence r on reddit
OpenAI Engineer's ‘LOL’ Moment Set Stage for Legal Fight With Apple
r/apple r on reddit
OpenAI Engineer's ‘LOL’ Moment Set Stage for Legal Fight With Apple
r/tech_x r on reddit
OpenAI Engineer's ‘LOL’ Moment Set Stage for Legal Fight With Apple
@exoticspice101 @exoticspice101 on x
California and the Federal courts takes IP theft very seriously. Imagine giving up your career for OpenAI of all companies.
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
Some quick late Friday thoughts on the holy shit Apple v. OpenAI lawsuit. Potential damages aside, this could sidetrack OpenAI's hardware aspirations for years. Possibly forever. https://spyglass.org/...
@givnerariel Ariel Givner on x
After reading through the Complaint, I think it's important to share the core legal elements as I think this will be one worth following. Apple's filing (July 10, 2026, N.D. Cal.) accuses Chang Liu, Tang Yew Tan, OpenAI, and io Products of federal trade secret misappropriation [i…
@bryanrbeal Bryan Beal on x
OpenAI is burning every bridge they have. - First it was Microsoft. They've yanked OpenAI from Copilot, from their own internal users, and are instead moving as fast as possible to their own models. - Apple announced they would use ChatGPT in Siri in 2024. Now Apple is suing
@quinnypig Corey Quinn on x
We'll know Apple is right if the @OpenAI hardware device ships with a fucked-up keyboard.
@lexnfx Alexei Oreskovic on x
There's nothing quite like a litigator's prose... “As a natural result, OpenAI's nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.”
@davetroy Dave Troy on x
It would neither sadden nor surprise me to see this completely nuke OpenAI and Sam Altman permanently. They're not playing, and OpenAI is so heavily leveraged they can't deal with this kind of threat and spin plates at the same time.
@quinnypig Corey Quinn on x
Apple is *IRATE* that after looking at what OpenAI is doing backwards, forwards, and upside down, they just can't find a way to shake them down for 30% of their revenue.
@mweinbach Max Weinbach on x
This seems insane and yet completely believable We'll see how it plays out I guess!
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
BREAKING: Apple is suing OpenAI, accusing it and its hardware chief of a coordinating trade secret theft campaign to help build its upcoming suite of AI devices.
@marypcbuk Mary Branscombe on bluesky
Apple could perhaps have taken notice that OpenAI had driven the *extremely* litigation-averse Microsoft to the point of threatening a lawsuit over their contract breaking tie up with AWS (went with divorce instead) [embedded post]
@radiodeadair.com Nash on bluesky
The United States has crumbled to the point we only selectively enforce corporate regulations, and things like this are the result. — Literally *no one* has stopped OpenAI from doing whatever they please, meaning they just continue to break the law as a matter of routine.
@caseynewton Casey Newton on bluesky
Do you know how mad Apple has to be to put this in a legal document about one of its partners [embedded post]
r/behindthebastards r on reddit
Apple sues OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft | TechCrunch
r/MediaMergers r on reddit
WSJ: Apple Sues OpenAI, Alleging It Stole Trade Secrets
r/technology r on reddit
Apple Sues OpenAI, Alleging It Stole Trade Secrets
@staysaasy @staysaasy on x
Emailing yourself docs when you leave a company is one of the lowest ROI moves there is. Upside, you get to plagiarize your dusty ass irrelevant PowerPoint from 2019. Downside, look like a total criminal in the event of an issue and/or get nailed for insider trading.
@kylesgibson Kyle S. Gibson on x
Millennials are not street smart enough to do corporate espionage
@ns123abc Nik on x
>be Chang Liu >senior system electrical engineer at Apple >8 years working on iphone >january 2026: leave Apple to join OpenAI >apple asks for laptop back >ignore them >lmao it's my laptop now >within HOURS of leaving >message Yu-Ting “Alyssa” Peng, friend at Apple: Liu: “I [imag…
@parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on x
just for a second... imagine Steve Jobs' nuclear reaction to Jony and the design team attempting a raiding like this
r/popculturechat r on reddit
Apple Sues OpenAI, Accusing It of Stealing Company Secrets
r/law r on reddit
Apple Sues OpenAI for Trade Secret Theft in Blockbuster Case
@leakerapple @leakerapple on x
I don't get how you can spend 24 years at a company like Apple, lead development of ground-breaking technology like the iMac, iPhone and Apple Watch, and then steal trade secrets on your way out to get pre-IPO OpenAI shares, screwing the company you helped build.
@raywongy Ray Wong on x
Who actually believes Jony Ive and Evans Hankey weren't aware of what Tang Tan was illegally doing? Sure they're not named in the lawsuit between Apple and OpenAI but come on
@mweinbach Max Weinbach on x
The more I read of the Apple lawsuit against Liu and Tan, the less it seems like Apple is trying to sue OpenAI and more they are suing those two and OpenAI is included to make sure Apple IP doesn't make it into their production We'll see, I don't expect this to be super dramatic
@quinnypig Corey Quinn on x
Apple corpsec though: * A departing employee allegedly kept an Apple-issued laptop * His access was apparently not revoked * He could still reach shared storage through an authentication flaw * He could use a current employee's device. * They didn't detect this for WEEKS 🤡🤡🤡
@quinnypig Corey Quinn on x
Okay. Read the lawsuit. The named dude (Liu) is gonna get nailed to the wall; they've got him dead to rights. The accusations against OpenAI itself are a hell of a lot more tenuous.
@quinnypig Corey Quinn on x
The dude though, yikes. Retained access to Apple systems post departure (great job Apple Corp Infosec; take a bow!), told other Apple folks to bring stuff with them. But no evidence yet that OpenAI as an entity sanctioned this.
@quinnypig Corey Quinn on x
“What a crap company with bad ethics” is quite the statement from Apple though, given the current native first party integration to iOS. My dude, you partnered with them.
@parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on x
worth noting that Tang reported to Ternus, which I'm sure makes this a whole lot more personal
@peard33 Paresh Dave on x
OpenAI hardware chief Tang Tan allegedly helped coach recruits on how to evade Apple's data security protocols and directed them to bring confidential Apple parts to job interviews at OpenAI. @ZeffMax https://www.wired.com/...
@rebelliousresource @rebelliousresource on bluesky
50/50 chance they reach some billion-dollar-backdoor-deal before we get to discovery, but my Gen X soul hopes they go full Coke v Pepsi. In public. Ugly AF. Just like the good ol' days.
@caseynewton Casey Newton on bluesky
This story is bonkers. Alleges that OpenAI told job candidates to steal unreleased product components and BRING THEM TO JOB INTERVIEWS. — Assuming it's true — Did Altman know? Did Jony Ive? [embedded post]
@timkellogg.me Mr. Tim on bluesky
Jonny Ive, the iPhone designer, quit Apple to do an AI hardware venture with Sam Altman and now Apple is suing over IP theft www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/07/...
@nixCraft@mastodon.social @nixCraft@mastodon.social on mastodon
Apple sues OpenAI, alleging it stole top-secret information. 😂 Sam Altman has stolen information, art, books, songs, trade secrets and whatnot from everyone and now APPLE alleges that the AI lab took Apple's intellectual property in order to develop its own consumer hardware htt…
r/technology r on reddit
Apple sues two OpenAI employees for theft of hardware secrets
r/wallstreetbets r on reddit
Apple Is Suing OpenAI for Allegedly Stealing Hardware Secrets
r/OpenAI r on reddit
Apple Is Suing OpenAI for Allegedly Stealing Hardware Secrets

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