Apple has launched a sweeping lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the artificial intelligence company and two of its senior employees of stealing confidential Apple technology to accelerate OpenAI’s push into the AI hardware market.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that OpenAI Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan and technical staff member Chang Liu improperly took Apple’s proprietary information after leaving the company. According to the complaint, both men previously held positions at Apple and used confidential knowledge to advance OpenAI’s hardware ambitions.

Beyond the actions of the two employees, Apple claims the conduct was not isolated, accusing OpenAI itself of participating in what it describes as a “coordinated pattern of misconduct at an institutional level.”

“This case is about Apple’s former employees stealing Apple’s trade secrets for the benefit of OpenAI,” the complaint states. “Apple brings this suit to put a stop to it.”

According to the filing, Tan spent more than 20 years at Apple, where he played a key role in developing products including the iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPod. The lawsuit further alleges that Liu, who worked as an Apple electrical engineer for eight years, had access to some of the company’s most closely guarded product development secrets.

Responding to the lawsuit, an Apple spokesperson said Friday that the company will “always defend our teams’ hard work and innovations, and we are taking all appropriate steps to do so.”

Although OpenAI has yet to disclose the specific hardware products it intends to release, the company has publicly stated that it is exploring new methods for people to interact with artificial intelligence beyond “traditional products and interfaces” as it expands into physical devices.

The legal battle comes as OpenAI moves toward what many expect will be a blockbuster initial public offering. In its complaint, Apple contends that OpenAI has strayed from its original nonprofit mission in favor of maximizing revenue while launching “an aggressive campaign to bring hardware devices to the market.”

Apple further alleges that intense pressure to introduce its first hardware product led OpenAI to cut corners. According to the lawsuit, the company “resorted to taking unlawful shortcuts.”

The complaint argues that OpenAI’s developing hardware division “now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.”

Apple also claims it attempted to address its concerns privately before turning to the courts, saying it contacted OpenAI regarding allegations that the company had obtained Apple’s confidential information. According to the lawsuit, OpenAI never responded.

“This lawsuit and the discovery process are needed to expose and begin to remedy the pervasive theft of Apple’s trade secrets,” the suit states.

{Matzav.com}