OpenAI Accuses Ex-Employee Now At Apple Of Taking Files On Unreleased Device

OpenAI has alleged that a former employee who moved to Apple sent more than 100 files on an unreleased product to a personal account and later presented that product to senior Apple executives. Apple denies it and says its own checks have turned up nothing to back the claim.

What OpenAI alleges

The allegation appears in a filing made in a US federal court in San Jose, California. OpenAI says the presentation to Apple leadership took place months ago. It points to Apple's launch this week of its HomeView product as a sign that Apple is now building AI products of its own.

OpenAI told the court it is worried its confidential and trade secret material is now circulating inside Apple, where engineers could use it to shape upcoming products, according to Reuters.

Apple's response

Apple said it has policies and procedures to keep new hires from using confidential information belonging to their former employers. It said its investigation has found no evidence supporting OpenAI's claims.

An October 12 letter from Apple's lawyers to OpenAI was made public in a separate filing. The letter said the two personal phone numbers OpenAI named as having received the files do not match the number the employee uses for Apple work. On that basis, Apple argued, it appeared to have no possession, custody or control of data sent to those numbers while he was at OpenAI.

The lawyers also wrote that Apple's review of repositories linked to his work had found no OpenAI files on its servers. Apple said it knew of no presentation by the employee on unreleased OpenAI products and asked OpenAI for more details.

Apple said in its filing that OpenAI did not answer the letter and went to court instead. It said it will keep working with OpenAI to look into the allegations.

The original case runs the other way

OpenAI's filing is part of a trade secret dispute that Apple began earlier this year. Apple alleges that employees left the iPhone maker and took confidential information to OpenAI's hardware division. OpenAI denies this.

Earlier this week, US District Judge Edward Davila granted part of Apple's request for early access to digital files from OpenAI. Apple may collect data from some of its former employees' devices and take depositions from three of them on an expedited schedule. They include the two defendants in the case - Chang Liu, a former senior systems electrical engineer, and Tang Yew Tan, a former vice president of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch.

Published on: Thursday, October 15, 2026, 09:35 AM IST