What all has Apple accused OpenAI of stealing? The full list from the blockbuster lawsuit

On July 10, Apple filed a 41-page complaint in the US District Court for the Northern District of California accusing OpenAI of stealing its trade secrets ‘at every level’ — from members of its technical staff up to OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer. Beyond the headlines, the complaint's real force is its specifics. Here is what Apple actually says was taken.

The List: What Apple Says Was Stolen

According to the complaint, the alleged theft covers the crown jewels of Apple's hardware machine: proprietary metal-finishing techniques and processes; design and component information for power systems and batteries; confidential details of vendors and contractors inside Apple's supply chain; the internal terminology Apple uses in supplier communications; and CAD files, design artifacts and physical prototypes.

Notably, the complaint does not accuse OpenAI of copying the iPhone itself. The alleged target is Apple's manufacturing know-how — the processes, suppliers and design methods behind its devices — allegedly taken to accelerate OpenAI's push into consumer hardware, the business it entered by acquiring former Apple design chief Jony Ive's startup io in a deal reported at roughly $6.5 billion.

The ‘Show And Tell’ Interviews

The complaint's most striking allegation targets Tang Yew Tan — a 24-year Apple veteran who rose to vice president overseeing iPhone and Apple Watch product design, and who now serves as OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer. Apple alleges Tan directed Apple employees interviewing at OpenAI to bring ‘actual parts’ from Apple to job interviews for show-and-tell sessions, along with CAD files and prototypes.

Recruiting-as-espionage, in Apple's telling: the interview process itself allegedly became a channel for moving confidential hardware information out of Cupertino.

The Engineer Who Kept His Access

The second named individual is Chang Liu, a former senior systems electrical engineer at Apple. According to the complaint, Liu discovered an authentication bug that let him reach Apple's internal network storage even after leaving — and messaged a colleague: ‘LOL, I found out I can access the network storage, so funny.’

Within hours of departing Apple, Liu allegedly texted that he still had another company computer. Apple says he went on to access and download dozens of confidential files from its network while developing hardware at OpenAI, and that he kept a work-issued Apple laptop after his exit.

A third former Apple employee now at OpenAI, Yu-Ting ‘Alyssa’ Peng, is described in the complaint as a conduit between the two companies. She is not named as a defendant, but Apple says her work laptop contained incriminating communications.

The Systemic Claims

Apple's larger argument is that this was not a few bad actors. More than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, the complaint notes, and Apple alleges the instances it has discovered are only a fraction of the total. Internal Apple documents marked ‘Need to Know’ were allegedly circulated to OpenAI new hires.

The complaint also alleges OpenAI coached departing Apple employees on evading the company's exit-security procedures — including what employees reportedly called the ‘dreaded walkout’ — advising them not to sign exit agreements and to notify OpenAI immediately if questioned.

Even io, the Jony Ive hardware startup at the centre of OpenAI's device ambitions, is accused of misusing Apple's proprietary industrial design techniques by misleading one of Apple's own manufacturing partners about what it was authorised to share.

From Partnership To War

The lawsuit caps a spectacular reversal. In 2024, Apple and OpenAI were partners — ChatGPT was integrated into the iPhone's operating system in one of the most-watched alliances in tech. Relations chilled after OpenAI declared its consumer hardware ambitions, bought io, and hired hundreds of Apple employees for its device effort.

OpenAI's Response

OpenAI has rejected the allegations. Its first statement said the company has no interest in other firms' trade secrets; on July 14 it went further, saying it was ‘not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit’ and defending its employees' freedom to work where they choose. All of Apple's claims remain allegations to be tested in court.

The case now heads toward discovery — a process that could force both companies to expose exactly the kinds of secrets this lawsuit is about. For OpenAI, the stakes include its entire consumer hardware roadmap. For Apple, the suit is a warning shot to every AI lab recruiting from Cupertino: the walled garden has lawyers.