OpenAI has accused a former employee who joined Apple of sending more than 100 files about an unreleased product to a personal account and later presenting information about it to senior Apple executives, according to the Guardian.
In its October 14 report, the Guardian said OpenAI raised the allegations in a filing submitted on Tuesday in US federal court in San Jose, California. OpenAI alleged that the presentation took place months earlier and expressed concern that its confidential information could influence Apple’s upcoming products.
OpenAI argued in the filing that its trade secrets and confidential information could be circulating inside Apple, allowing engineers to draw on its unreleased work when developing products.
According to the Guardian, Apple said it had policies and procedures to prevent new employees from using confidential information from previous employers. The company also said it had found no evidence supporting OpenAI’s allegations.
Competing trade secret allegations
The Guardian described the filing as part of a trade secret lawsuit Apple brought against OpenAI earlier in 2026. In that dispute, Apple alleges that former employees took confidential information to OpenAI’s hardware division. OpenAI denies those allegations.
The Guardian reported that a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday was delayed following OpenAI’s new allegations. It also reported that OpenAI had said it might file a countersuit based on the claims.
According to the newspaper, US district judge Edward Davila had partly granted Apple’s request for early access to digital files in the case. The reported order allowed Apple to collect data from some former employees’ devices and question three former employees in depositions on an accelerated schedule.
The Guardian identified two of those employees as defendants Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer, and Tang Yew Tan, a former vice-president of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch.
The Guardian reported October 2027 as the likely trial date, while noting that OpenAI had said in court filings it could be ready for trial as early as June 2027.
