Controversy over former OpenAI employee who joined Apple and allegedly leaked confidential materials before presenting on the products to senior executives

[The Financial News]  Allegations that a former employee who moved from OpenAI to Apple leaked more than 100 pieces of confidential material about unreleased products through a personal account and then gave a presentation about those products to Apple’s senior executives have sparked controversy. On the 14th (local time), the International Business Times (IBT) reported that, in a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, OpenAI said the presentation had taken place months earlier and suggested that Apple’s recently unveiled AI product, HomeView, may also be linked to the information leak.
OpenAI said in its complaint, “We are deeply concerned that our trade secrets and confidential information may have been shared internally at Apple and used by Apple engineers to develop new products based on OpenAI’s innovative research.”
Apple countered that it has strict internal policies and procedures prohibiting former employees from misappropriating confidential information from their previous employers, and that it had found no evidence to support OpenAI’s claims.
This legal battle is an extension of a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit Apple filed earlier this year. Apple initially sued, alleging that former iPhone employees had taken its confidential information with them when they moved to OpenAI’s hardware division. OpenAI has categorically denied the allegation.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, who is overseeing the case, partially granted Apple’s request for expedited discovery.
Apple will therefore be able to collect data from devices belonging to its former employees. It plans to take early depositions from three former employees, including defendants Liu Chang, a former senior systems electrical engineer, and Tang Yu Tan, a former vice president of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch.
The full-scale court battle is expected to begin around October 2027. However, OpenAI has stated in court filings that it is prepared to go to trial as early as June 2027.

[email protected] Yoon Jae-jun Reporter