In the race to various AI-related milestones, companies are outspending each other to achieve them, in more ways than one. Beyond the straightforward research and development, some are reportedly spending resources to also poach staffers from rivals, as well as suing each other for allegedly stealing trade secrets via the aforementioned method. Such is the relationship between Apple and OpenAI, according to a Reuters report.
According to the report, the bitten fruit brand sued not only the ChatGTP maker, but also two former employees who went over to the figurative other side for leaking trade secrets. The suit accuses OpenAI of “orchestrating a broad effort to systematically acquire and exploit Apple’s confidential information through former employees, recruiting practices and supplier relationships to accelerate its push into the consumer hardware business”. In response, the report also cites an OpenAI statement saying “we have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets”.
The two former employees named in the lawsuit include Chang Liu, a former senior systems electrical engineer, and Tang Yew Tan, formerly vice president of product design for both iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple accuses the former of not returning a company-issued laptop and using an authentication bug to access the company’s internal network to download “dozens of Apple’s confidential hardware-related files”. The latter, on the other hand, is accused of emailing to himself information about the company’s suppliers and internal industry summaries, which are later used to the benefit of OpenAI.
In the Quartz report, Tang Yew Tan was noted to have been at Apple for about 25 years, before co-founding io Products, which was ultimately acquired by OpenAI. His LinkedIn reflects this, though he goes by Tang T. on the platform. An older report by the MIT student newspaper The Tech from back in October 2025 highlights the journey of one Malaysian, Tang Tan, who left Apple in 2022 to found a startup called “io”, before eventually being a part of OpenAI.
Overall though, the lawsuit highlights a dichotomy of sorts between Apple and OpenAI. On one hand, the former is not making as many strides as the competition on the actual AI part of the industry. But on the other, the latter is not known for its own hardware, and often relies on those made by other companies, such as the fruit brand, to bridge the gap between its AI software and the end consumer. Per the report, it looks like both are looking to be more independent of each other, turning their symbiotic relationship into one of competition.
(Source: Reuters, Quartz, The Tech, Tang Tan / LinkedIn)
