Sunita Somvanshi
Apple has accused OpenAI of a serious breach: stealing proprietary hardware designs and destroying evidence to cover it up.
The lawsuit, filed July 10 in federal court in California, names five defendants: OpenAI Foundation, OpenAI Group PBC, io Products (OpenAI’s consumer hardware division), and two former Apple employees — Tang Yew Tan and Chang Liu.
Chang Liu was a senior systems electrical engineer at Apple. Apple alleges that after leaving the company, Liu accessed a proprietary schematic for an advanced power-converter circuit. According to Apple’s court filing, Liu used that design while working at OpenAI.
Apple also claims OpenAI destroyed evidence. Specifically, Apple says OpenAI deleted internal Slack communications and erased data from devices, violating rules about preserving evidence in litigation.
The breakthrough came in August. On August 21, Liu’s counsel produced a MacBook for forensic examination. When Apple examined it, they discovered new evidence pointing to the alleged misuse of Apple’s trade secrets. Armed with this finding, Apple filed for expedited discovery in late August and early September, asking the court to speed up access to OpenAI’s documents and communications.
OpenAI has disputed every major claim.
In public statements, OpenAI revealed internal messages showing that Apple employees actually contacted Liu after his departure, asking him to help locate files and information. OpenAI argues the messages contradict Apple’s account. According to OpenAI, Apple initiated the outreach.
OpenAI also asked the court to limit Apple’s discovery scope — to restrict what information Apple can demand.
The case is specific and narrow: did former Apple employees transfer specific hardware schematics to a competitor? It’s not about AI model training on public data or intellectual property related to language models.
io Products represents OpenAI’s push into consumer hardware — a potential rival to Apple’s product lines. That adds context to why Apple might be particularly vigilant about protecting its designs.
What’s confirmed: a lawsuit exists. Apple made serious allegations. OpenAI disputed them. A MacBook was examined. New evidence was discovered. Two parties are now fighting in court.
What’s alleged: Liu accessed Apple’s circuit schematic while at OpenAI and used it in collaboration with others.
What’s unresolved: whether the information legally qualifies as a protected trade secret, whether misappropriation actually occurred, and what a court will ultimately decide.
The case is proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California under case number 5:26-cv-07078.
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