OpenAI Fires Back At Apple In AI Hardware Lawsuit

OpenAI has pushed back hard against Apples trade-secret lawsuit, turning what was already a major AI hardware fight into a public battle over emails, iMessages and the story each company wants the court and the public to believe.

In an official post titled Apple is getting this wrong, OpenAI rejected Apples claims that former Apple employees used confidential information after joining OpenAI. The company also published excerpts of iMessages and email correspondence that it says undercut key parts of Apples account of what happened before the lawsuit was filed.

Apple lawsuit, filed in July, accused OpenAI, its hardware group and former Apple employees of misusing confidential information tied to unreleased hardware work. The case sits at the centre of a larger fight over consumer AI devices, especially after OpenAI moved deeper into hardware through its deal with Jony Ive connected design studio io. We covered the earlier stage of that fight in Apples OpenAI lawsuit and the AI hardware race.

OpenAI is now saying Apple got important parts of the timeline wrong. The company says Apple had claimed it contacted OpenAI in February and received no response, but now admits that outside counsel emailed the wrong person after confusing two Asian last names. OpenAI also says Apple claimed there had been a discussion with OpenAIs General Counsel, but now concedes that conversation never happened.

That is a serious allegation because pre-lawsuit conduct matters in cases like this. If one side says it tried to resolve issues before filing, the details of who contacted whom, what was said and whether specific claims were raised can shape how the dispute is understood. OpenAI says Apple never raised the exact allegations now in the lawsuit and instead suggested at the time that issues were being resolved.

OpenAI also disputes Apples claims about Chang Liu, a former Apple employee now central to the case. Apple has accused Liu of accessing confidential information after leaving the company. OpenAI says Apple employees themselves reached out to Liu after his departure and asked him to help locate files or explain information for ongoing Apple work. The iMessages published by OpenAI are heavily redacted, but the company says they show Apple staff continuing to rely on Liu after he left.

That does not settle the legal question. It does, however, complicate the public version of the story. Trade-secret cases often turn on intent, access, use and whether a company took reasonable steps to protect confidential material. OpenAI argues that any residual access was caused by Apples own system-access management problems and that former employees may have retained access without wanting it or even being aware of it.

The second major figure is Tang Tan, a longtime Apple executive who later became part of OpenAIs hardware push. Apple alleges that Tan tried to obtain and use trade secrets. OpenAI denies this, saying Tan has been clear internally that OpenAI does not want and must not use confidential information from other companies.

The careful point here is that none of this has been decided by a court. Apple alleges misconduct. OpenAI denies it and is now trying to show receipts. The public documents and messages may influence perception, but the real test will come through discovery, witness testimony, technical evidence and whatever the court decides about Apples request for a preliminary injunction.

The case matters because OpenAI is no longer only a software and cloud AI company. Its planned hardware products could eventually put it into direct competition with Apple, Google, Meta and other companies trying to define the next interface after the smartphone. That is why OpenAIs first device has become such a sensitive story. Earlier reporting around OpenAIs first hardware device already suggested that the company wants something more ambient than a traditional phone.

Apple also has a lot to protect. The company has spent decades building a culture around hardware secrecy, supply-chain control and product design. If OpenAI hires former Apple talent and then moves quickly into consumer AI devices, Apple will naturally watch that transition closely. But a lawsuit is not only a defensive tool. It can also slow a rival, force disclosures and shape the competitive narrative.

That is why OpenAIs public response is notable. Companies usually fight trade-secret claims primarily through legal filings. OpenAI is choosing to fight in public too, releasing messages and emails to make the lawsuit look careless and overreaching. It is a risky strategy because any public claim can be tested later in court, but it also signals that OpenAI does not want Apple to own the narrative while the hardware race heats up.

For TechBooky readers, the bigger story is that AI hardware is becoming valuable enough to trigger Silicon Valley old reflexes: talent raids, trade-secret claims, injunction requests and public reputation fights. The AI race is not just about models anymore. It is about who gets to build the device people may use to access those models every day.