Apple Says It Has ‘Shocking Evidence’ in OpenAI Trade Secrets Lawsuit

Apple filed what it calls “shocking evidence” in its lawsuit against OpenAI, aiming to support allegations that former employees stole trade secrets for OpenAI’s benefit. The new details surfaced after legal counsel for former Apple employee Chang Liu, who now works at OpenAI, handed over Liu’s old Apple work laptop for investigation.

Apple alleges Liu used a confidential Apple circuit schematic in his work at OpenAI and used a tool sharing a name with an internal Apple engineering application. The company also claims OpenAI was “well-aware” of Liu’s access to Apple data and says Liu enlisted OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng to help destroy evidence in June after learning Apple was investigating him.

OpenAI has previously defended Liu, saying he accessed Apple files after leaving the company to help former colleagues who requested assistance. OpenAI argued that Apple was shifting blame to “residual access,” which it described as a common issue caused by Apple failing to properly manage system access when people leave. Apple, however, claims Liu retained access because he exploited a rare, previously unknown authentication bug.

Apple is seeking a preliminary injunction that would block OpenAI from working on hardware based on Apple’s technology while the case continues. It is also asking for expedited discovery, a faster evidence-gathering process, because it alleges more former employees may be implicated. According to Apple’s initial filing, more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.