Apple sued OpenAI for trade secret theft, accusing the artificial intelligence startup and its hardware chief of engaging in a coordinated campaign to steal information about upcoming products.
The iPhone maker said in a suit Friday that OpenAI encouraged Apple employees to share information, components, drawings and other materials related to upcoming products — part of efforts by the AI company to develop its own suite of devices.
As part of the litigation, filed in the Northern District of California, Apple also named Tang Tan, the chief hardware officer at OpenAI. He was previously Apple’s vice president of product design, leading development of the iPhone, smartwatch, AirPods and several other offerings in the company’s hardware engineering division.