Apple sued OpenAI on Friday, accusing the ChatGPT maker of using stolen trade secrets to develop its own line of AI-powered hardware devices that have yet to be publicly unveiled. The lawsuit opens a direct legal front between two companies that were, until recently, partners on iPhone AI integration.
The filing lands amid an escalating talent war between the two firms. OpenAI has hired a string of senior Apple hardware veterans over the past year, including a high-profile executive departure covered late last month, as it pushes to ship consumer devices designed around its AI models. Apple's complaint argues that knowledge carried over by former employees crosses the line from experience into proprietary secrets.
Neither company has commented in detail on the specific technologies at issue. The case is likely to shape how aggressively AI labs can recruit from established hardware giants — and how much of that expertise they can legally use.
