Apple has filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of stealing its trade secrets, and OpenAI has publicly responded, denying the allegations.
According to Moneycontrol, the suit was filed Friday and names two former Apple employees now working at OpenAI as defendants, including former Apple Vice President Tang Tan and ex-engineer Chang Liu. Firstpost reports that OpenAI has denied the claims.
At the center of the case is a moment Fortune and others describe as an engineer's "LOL" text. Apple alleges the former engineer kept accessing the company's internal servers for months after joining OpenAI and downloaded sensitive data. Moneycontrol reports he left with a company-issued MacBook he never returned and maintained a relationship with an Apple employee who continued sharing information.
The complaint is aimed squarely at OpenAI's hardware push. Computerworld, which quotes Apple calling the conduct "rotten to its core," says Apple questions whether OpenAI's hardware plans are built around exfiltrated Apple information. Tech Times reports the suit also alleges a parts-smuggling scheme tied to building an AI device.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman frames the fight as the product of months of simmering tensions, highlighting a strained relationship between OpenAI hardware chief Tang Tan and his former Apple boss, John Ternus.
The dispute is already drawing outside voices. The Times of India reports that Elon Musk responded by attacking OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Why it matters: an analyst told Wccftech the lawsuit could delay OpenAI's hardware ambitions "even if the allegations are not proven," turning a talent-and-secrets dispute into a potential roadblock for one of AI's most watched product bets.