Apple has broadened its trade-secret allegations against OpenAI, telling a court that its internal investigation identified additional former employees who may have retained confidential material or played a part in events under examination. OpenAI denies possessing or wanting Apple trade secrets.
According to TechCrunch’s account of the new filing, Apple is asking for expedited discovery from OpenAI, the company’s foundation, device startup io and two accused former Apple employees: senior systems engineer Chang Liu and OpenAI chief hardware officer Tang Yew Tan. Io was co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive. Apple also has a request for a preliminary injunction pending.
The injunction sought by Apple would restrict OpenAI from advancing an AI device or other products allegedly based on Apple technology while the case proceeds. That request is an allegation-driven legal measure, not a finding that OpenAI or any individual misappropriated information.
Apple said its continuing inquiry had surfaced 11 more former employees, beyond Liu and Tan, who could be witnesses or otherwise connected to the dispute. The filing also refers to Yu-Ting Peng, an OpenAI employee named in the original complaint. Among the specific allegations, Apple says one former worker discussed proprietary information about unannounced products with Liu and Peng before Peng interviewed at OpenAI. It separately claims another former worker captured screenshots of confidential documents concerning an unreleased product before an OpenAI interview.
The company further told the court that, after the complaint was filed, several former Apple employees now at OpenAI contacted Apple about returning company-issued devices they had kept. Apple argues that these developments justify a faster discovery process because the possible scope extends beyond the people initially named.
OpenAI’s public response disputes both the factual basis and the necessity of the requested injunction. The company said it neither has nor seeks Apple’s trade secrets and described its focus as developing new products and technology. It also challenged Apple’s handling and description of earlier communications, including an email allegedly sent to the wrong person after two similar surnames were confused.
OpenAI additionally argued that Apple had not adequately acknowledged that former workers’ residual access to internal systems resulted from Apple’s own security procedures. The competing accounts leave central questions unresolved. The court will have to assess Apple’s evidence, OpenAI’s rebuttal and whether accelerated discovery or temporary restrictions are warranted as the litigation continues. For now, the allegations remain unproven, and neither the requested discovery schedule nor the injunction itself would resolve the ultimate merits of Apple’s claims at trial.
