OpenAI alleged in a 14 October court filing that a former employee who returned to Apple sent more than 100 confidential files about an unreleased OpenAI device to his personal accounts. Apple is the plaintiff in the same lawsuit, and OpenAI now wants to investigate whether it should bring counterclaims.
Key points
- OpenAI says the files include device images, engineering data and supplier information.
- Some transfers allegedly took place on the employee’s final day at OpenAI.
- OpenAI says it understands that the employee presented its product plans to Apple’s senior leadership.
OpenAI describes the device files
The employee came to OpenAI from Apple, worked there for six months and has since returned to Apple, according to OpenAI’s filing. OpenAI says an ongoing forensic investigation connected to the lawsuit uncovered the transfers to his personal accounts.
OpenAI describes the material as highly confidential and says it concerns at least one device under development. Its account lists detailed device images, engineering and manufacturing data, supplier information and project files, as well as standards for cosmetic finishes and reports on coating and sealing hardware components.
Some of the files were sent just after midnight in Singapore on 2 June 2026, OpenAI alleges. The filing identifies that date as the employee’s last day at the company.
Apple leadership and OpenAI’s product plans
OpenAI says it understands that the former employee gave Apple’s senior leadership a presentation about OpenAI’s product plans. The audience included Apple’s vice president of operations in Asia, according to the filing, which says the presentation appears to have taken place months ago.
OpenAI says it is concerned that its confidential information could circulate among Apple engineers and influence upcoming products. It also says Apple has not given the assurances OpenAI requested that Apple neither possesses nor has used its trade secret and confidential information.
OpenAI seeks counterclaim discussion on 14 October
The filing supplements a joint case management statement dated 1 October in Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI and other defendants in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The transfer allegation adds a possible dispute over OpenAI’s information to a case in which a federal judge has ordered OpenAI to provide hiring records, as AI Affairs reported.
Apple and OpenAI faced a 14 October hearing in the trade secrets lawsuit, as AI Affairs reported. OpenAI asks to discuss a case management approach at that conference that would let it investigate the alleged conduct and, if necessary, file and pursue counterclaims.
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