OpenAI weighs counterclaims against Apple over device files

OpenAI told a California federal court it may file counterclaims against Apple. It alleges a former employee who returned to Apple moved more than 100 confidential files about an unreleased OpenAI device to his personal accounts.

The disclosure, filed October 14, comes amid a trade-secrets battle Apple itself initiated in July.

Some transfers ran just past midnight in Singapore on June 2

In Apple Inc. v. Liu, OpenAI asked US District Judge Edward Davila to permit it to raise the new claims at the October 14 case management conference. A supplement to the parties’ joint case management statement from October 1 says the transfers were discovered in a forensic review related to the lawsuit.

The employee came to OpenAI from Apple, stayed for six months then went back to Apple. The supplement says OpenAI wants to investigate and “if necessary, file and pursue counterclaims arising out of that conduct.”

OpenAI said the transfers included detailed images of at least one device under development. The batch contained engineering and manufacturing data, supplier information, project files, cosmetic-finish standards and reports on coating and sealing hardware parts.

Some files were moved not long after midnight Singapore time on June 2, 2026. The employee’s last day at the company was June 2, OpenAI said.

OpenAI also claims the same person briefed Apple’s senior leadership on OpenAI’s product plans, including Apple’s vice president of operations in Asia. The filing says the presentation “appears to have happened months ago.”

“And now, armed with that information, Apple is making a new push into AI-enabled products,” OpenAI wrote. The filing points to Apple’s new line of smart-home products, the Home Collection, and the company’s HomeView product.

OpenAI said it raised the issue directly with Apple. The filing said Apple has not given assurances that it neither holds nor has used OpenAI’s confidential material.

Cupertino says its own review found no evidence

Apple denied the account. The company said it found nothing to substantiate OpenAI’s claims and that it has policies to stop new employees from using confidential information from their old employers.

Apple’s July 10 complaint alleges ex-employees carried its trade secrets to OpenAI.

Apple cited what it called “shocking evidence” in August, drawn from a forensic check of a laptop an OpenAI-bound engineer had used. On October 13, Davila granted part of Apple’s request for expedited discovery and ordered depositions of Liu, Tan and Alyssa Peng.

The suit names two former Apple employees. OpenAI said Chang Liu left Apple on January 22, 2026, while design executive Tang Tan had been at Apple for more than 24 years.

Apple says more than 400 of its ex-employees are now working for OpenAI. The complaint also alleges that OpenAI used internal Apple code names to mine confidential information from job candidates.

OpenAI called the suit “careless, aggressive and oddly personal” in a post on August 3. It said Apple’s lawyers once emailed the wrong person by mixing up two surnames.

OpenAI then filed a motion to dismiss, framing the case as cover for Apple’s difficulty retaining engineers and getting AI out the door. Apple has sought a preliminary injunction to preclude OpenAI from using the disputed material during the case.