In the lawsuit between Apple and OpenAI over the theft of trade secrets and intellectual property, Apple has presented new findings. Apple is suing OpenAI, accusing the company of former Apple employees deliberately using confidential data to develop products at OpenAI.
Confidential chip data on a private laptop
According to Macrumors, Apple analyzed the now-returned laptop of its former employee Liu Chang. In doing so, Apple discovered that Liu allegedly downloaded information about confidential Apple chip designs and used it for his work at OpenAI. Other people at OpenAI reportedly knew that Liu had accessed this information from Apple's cloud without authorization.
Liu is said to have downloaded the chip information two months after leaving Apple. He allegedly used it to run a simulation and fed the information into the AI. Access apparently occurred via a Mac Mini that later synced with the MacBook, which is how Apple became aware of the access in the first place.
Allegation of evidence destruction
After learning of the investigation against him, Liu is said to have instructed a colleague at OpenAI to destroy potential evidence. Apple also shared the new findings with the court to push for expedited discovery. Additional devices belonging to Liu are still to be examined. The court is scheduled to take up the case on October 1, 2026.
The lawsuit also accuses former senior Apple manager Tan Tang of instructing job applicants coming from Apple to disclose confidential Apple information. Apple employees who were recruited away are said to have received training on how to bypass security measures meant to prevent the theft of internal information.