OpenAI employee who left for Apple took files about unreleased device, OpenAI alleges

OpenAI alleges a former employee who left for Apple took over 100 files about an unreleased product and presented it to senior Apple leadership. The filing, part of an ongoing trade secret dispute, claims Apple is now developing its own AI products based on that information. Apple denies the allegations and says it has found no evidence to support them.

OpenAI has filed a new legal claim alleging that a former employee who left the ChatGPT maker for Apple took more than 100 files about an unreleased product to a personal account and later made a presentation about that product to senior Apple leadership. The filing, made in US federal court in San Jose, California, asserts that the presentation occurred months ago and that Apple is now developing its own AI products, citing the release of Apple's HomeView product this week. OpenAI expressed concern that its trade secrets are now circulating inside Apple, where engineers could shape upcoming products based on its confidential work. Apple responded that it has policies to ensure new employees do not use confidential information from previous employers and that it has found no evidence to support OpenAI's allegations. The document is part of an ongoing trade secret dispute that Apple filed earlier this year, in which it alleged that employees of the iPhone maker left and took confidential information to OpenAI's hardware division. OpenAI has denied those allegations. Earlier this week, US District Court Judge Edward Davila granted part of Apple's request to get early access to digital files from OpenAI, allowing Apple to gather data from some former employees' devices and depose three of them on a sped-up schedule. The case is likely to go to trial in October 2027, though OpenAI has said it could be ready as soon as June 2027.