苹果起诉OpenAI涉嫌窃取商业机密

苹果于周五对OpenAI提起了诉讼，指控其窃取商业机密及违约。

这家iPhone制造商指控称，这一不当行为——据其称，暴露了从曾在苹果工作过的OpenAI员工处进行盗窃的模式——是由OpenAI高层领导指使的，其中包括首席硬件官 唐棠。

该诉讼在美国加利福尼亚北区联邦地区法院提起，指控唐棠在OpenAI招聘过程中使用苹果的保密项目代号，要求应聘者携带苹果硬件组件参加面试，指导离职苹果员工如何规避公司的安全程序，并索取有关公司未发布产品的详细信息。

在加入OpenAI之前，唐棠在苹果工作了24年，最近担任iPhone和Apple Watch产品设计副总裁。

这些指控传出之际，有传言称OpenAI正在开发其首款硬件产品，可能会与iPhone竞争。四月份，行业分析师郭明錤曾暗示该设备可能是一款智能手机，将依赖AI智能体而非应用程序。如果属实，这将是迄今为止对苹果核心硬件业务的最大威胁之一。

苹果前首席设计师乔纳森·艾夫（Jony Ive）的设备初创公司io去年被OpenAI以65亿美元收购，以帮助这家AI公司实现其硬件雄心。尽管io在诉状中被点名，但艾夫本人并未被提及。

唐棠并非新投诉中唯一被提到的OpenAI员工。苹果还指控，在苹果担任高级系统电气工程师八年的刘畅，在2026年离职加入OpenAI后未归还公司配发的笔记本，并使用该电脑下载了苹果的保密技术文件。

苹果在诉状中称，被盗文件包含了未公布技术、功能和产品的信息，包括技术规格、工程演示和专有项目数据。

诉讼还指控刘某将苹果的保密信息分享给其他申请OpenAI职位的苹果员工，并至少建议其中一人在面试前学习哪些内容。

苹果在诉状中表示，已于二月份向OpenAI发函提出关切，但未收到任何回应。

苹果指控这些前员工的行为是OpenAI为获取苹果保密信息而采取的策略之一，包括要求苹果员工携带设计图纸和原型参加面试，并回答有关组件和供应商选择流程等问题。

苹果表示，其持续调查发现，OpenAI及其合作伙伴在开发自身硬件产品时甚至使用了苹果的保密信息。例如，诉状中提到一种专有的金属表面处理工艺，OpenAI在误导合作伙伴使其相信已获得苹果许可后使用了该工艺。

与许多科技公司一样，苹果通常通过分析公司设备上的通信记录和服务器日志来调查潜在的商业秘密盗窃或其他不当行为。通过向法庭提起诉讼，苹果将有机会通过法律取证程序进一步了解所指控行动的范围。

苹果请求法院禁止OpenAI使用或披露其商业机密，要求该公司归还所有苹果保密材料，并保全与此案相关的证据。

“这仅仅是冰山一角。苹果无法看清OpenAI闭门背后的情况，在那里，此类不当行为已被领导层常态化和典型化，”诉状中写道。“自然而然的结果是，OpenAI新生的硬件业务如今建立在最不稳固的基础之上，因其非法依赖盗用的商业机密而腐烂到核心。”

在一份事先准备好的声明中，苹果还表示：

“在苹果，我们的团队不断开发突破性技术，以创造全球最好的产品和服务，保护他们的工作和知识产权是我们极为重视的事情。近期，有大量证据表明，受雇于OpenAI的个人不当获取了苹果关于未发布技术、流程和产品的秘密和机密信息。我们将始终捍卫我们团队的辛勤工作和创新成果，并正在采取一切适当措施这样做。”

OpenAI被要求置评。

诉讼文件可在此处查看，或阅读下文。

本报道仍在发展中，将持续更新，原发布于太平洋时间下午1:32。

Apple filed a lawsuit Friday against OpenAI over allegations of trade secret theft and breach of contract.

The iPhone maker alleges that this misconduct, which it says reveals a pattern of theft from OpenAI employees who previously worked at Apple, was directed by OpenAI’s senior leadership, including Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses Tan of using Apple’s confidential project code names during OpenAI’s recruiting process, asking job candidates to bring in Apple hardware components to their interviews, coaching departing Apple employees on how to evade the company’s security procedures, and asking for details about the company’s unannounced products.

Before joining OpenAI, Tan had spent 24 years at Apple, most recently as VP of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch.

The accusations come at a time when OpenAI is rumored to be developing its first hardware product, which would likely compete with the iPhone. In April, industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested this device could be a smartphone that would rely on AI agents instead of apps. If true, it would be one of the largest threats to Apple’s core hardware business to date.

Apple’s former lead designer Jony Ive’s device startup io was acquired by OpenAI last year in a $6.5 billion deal to aid the AI company with its hardware ambitions. While io was named in the filing, Ive was not.

Tan is not the only OpenAI employee referenced in the new complaint. Apple also alleges that Chang Liu, who spent eight years at Apple as a senior systems electrical engineer, failed to return an Apple-issued laptop after leaving the company for OpenAI in 2026 and had used the computer to download confidential Apple technical documents.

Apple says in the complaint that the stolen documents included information about unannounced technologies, features, and products, including technical specifications, engineering presentations, and proprietary project data.

Liu is also accused in the lawsuit of sharing Apple’s confidential information with other Apple employees applying for jobs at OpenAI, advising at least one of them on what to study before their interview.

Apple sent a letter to OpenAI in February to raise its concerns, and received no response, the company said in the complaint.

It alleges that the behavior of these former employees is part of OpenAI’s strategy to extract Apple’s confidential information, which included asking Apple employees to bring designs and prototypes to their interviews, and answer questions about things like component and vendor selection processes.

Apple says its ongoing investigation revealed that OpenAI and its partners have even used Apple’s confidential information while the AI model maker develops its own hardware product. For instance, the filing references a proprietary metal finishing technique that was used by OpenAI after it allegedly misled a partner into believing it had Apple’s permission to do so.

Like many tech companies, Apple typically investigates potential trade secret theft or other improper activity by analyzing communications that took place on company-owned devices and reading through its server logs. By taking the case to court, Apple will have an opportunity to learn more about the extent of the alleged operation through the legal discovery process.

Apple is asking the court to bar OpenAI from using or disclosing its trade secrets, require the company to return any confidential Apple materials, and preserve evidence related to the case.

“This is the tip of the iceberg. Apple lacks visibility into what’s been happening behind closed doors at OpenAI, where such misconduct is normalized and exemplified by leadership,” the filing states. “As a natural result, OpenAI’s nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.”

In a prepared statement, Apple also said the following:

“At Apple, our teams are constantly developing breakthrough technologies to create the best products and services in the world, and protecting their work and intellectual property is something we take very seriously. Recently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Apple’s secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products. We will always defend our teams’ hard work and innovations, and we are taking all appropriate steps to do so.”

OpenAI was asked for comment.

The filing is available here, or you can read it below.

This story is developing and will be updated, and originally published at 1:32pm PT.