Apple Sues OpenAI for Trade Secret Theft — Alleges Coordinated Scheme to Steal Hardware IP via Ex-Apple Hires

Summary

Apple filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on July 10, 2026, alleging trade secret theft and breach of contract. Apple's filing claims former Apple employees systematically extracted confidential information about unreleased technologies, engineering processes, and product specifications at the direction of OpenAI's senior leadership — "at every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer." Named in