Apple Complaint Alleges OpenAI Coached Staff Around Exit Checks

Apple's 41-page trade-secret complaint against OpenAI sets out allegations about exit procedures, device handling and hardware-staff recruitment, based on TechCrunch's review of the court filing and its selection of the most detailed claims in the case.

The lawsuit centres on Apple's claims, not a court finding.

OpenAI has publicly responded only through a statement shared on X stating that it has no interest in other companies' trade secrets and remains focused on building products that help people, as TechCrunch noted.

Complaint Names Exit-Process Allegations

The complaint argues that the alleged misconduct was not limited to rogue employees.

It described the conduct as “normalised and exemplified by leadership,” language Apple used to frame the case as a challenge to OpenAI's culture rather than only a matter of individual departures.

A separate passage used the phrase “rotten to its core” and tied that wording to the allegation that OpenAI was working on hardware that could challenge the iPhone maker.

Apple also alleged that OpenAI coached departing Apple employees on how to avoid company exit procedures, with TechCrunch highlighting that claim.

The filing referred to those procedures as the “dreaded walkout” and alleged that candidates were told to reduce the likelihood that trade-secret theft would be detected.

Filing Describes Network Storage And Device-Access Claims

In one allegation, the filing states that Chang Liu, a former senior systems electrical engineer at Apple who later joined OpenAI, sent an Apple employee a message saying he could access network storage.

The same section alleges that Liu texted within hours of leaving Apple that he still had another computer.

Elsewhere, the complaint names Tang Yew Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer and an Apple veteran of 24 years, and alleges that he directed candidates who still worked at Apple to take Apple devices from the office.

It further contends that departing employees were advised to notify OpenAI as soon as possible if Apple asked them to sign anything while quitting.

Apple cited more than four hundred former Apple employees now working at OpenAI.

In the complaint, that figure serves to support the claim that the dispute extends beyond a small number of staff moves.

OpenAI Statement Rejects Interest In Trade Secrets

TechCrunch cited OpenAI's public response as saying the company has no interest in other companies' trade secrets.

The statement added that OpenAI remains focused on building products that help people, but the account did not identify a detailed legal response to each allegation in the complaint.

Apple's complaint also referenced io, a company founded by former Apple employees including Jony Ive.

The filing alleges that io accessed and used Apple secret, proprietary industrial-design techniques, processes and know-how related to metal finishing.

Another line in the filing used the phrase “tip of the iceberg” for the alleged misconduct.

Apple offered that passage to support its position that the conduct described in the complaint was only part of what it believes happened.

Court Record Still Lacks A Ruling On Apple's Claims

TechCrunch's account indicates that Apple tried to resolve the situation outside court before filing the case.

The court record it cited does not include a court ruling, a discovery timetable, a damages figure, a detailed OpenAI legal answer, or judicial findings on Apple's trade-secret allegations.