‘Apple is getting this wrong,’ says OpenAI — startup blasts iPhone maker over lawsuit alleging it stole confidential information through ex-Apple employees

Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in July, alleging that the latter stole trade secrets through former Apple employees. The startup has finally publicly responded to the lawsuit today, posting a blog post on its website titled, “Apple is getting this wrong.”

“Apple is one of the greatest companies of all time, and built a reputation for obsessing over the smallest details. This careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit sadly doesn’t live up to that reputation,” the company said in its blog post. It also added, “Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction is both based on false information and completely unnecessary because we do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets.”

The case names OpenAI technical staff Chang Liu, chief hardware officer Tang Tan, OpenAI, and io Products as defendants. Liu worked as a senior electrical engineer at Apple, while Tan was its former vice president of product design for the iPhone, AirPods, and the Apple Watch. Interestingly, io Products, which was acquired by OpenAI last year, was founded by Tan alongside former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive and other former Apple heavyweights.

The tech giant requested a preliminary injunction to stop the accused from accessing, acquiring, using, or disclosing the alleged stolen trade secrets. Cupertino said in its filing, “Apple will be irreparably harmed absent a preliminary injunction.”

OpenAI publicly responded to this legal request through its blog post, pointing out that many of its allegations were actually based on miscommunications and false information, and that this move is completely unnecessary. But whether what the AI tech giant claims is true or not, its research and operations on consumer hardware would likely be impaired if the judge grants Apple’s request.

Although OpenAI’s primary product is ChatGPT and its other LLM-powered services, it’s been rumored that it’s also working on AI-powered hardware. Its first product is expected to be some sort of portable smart speaker with built-in cameras and sensors. Although this isn’t an iPhone replacement, like the botched Humane AI Pin, some experts say this move threatens Apple’s standing as the biggest consumer electronics company on the planet. This is especially true as it still lags behind other tech giants when it comes to artificial intelligence, even though AI enthusiasts love using Apple silicon with its Unified Memory architecture.

Apple’s preliminary injunction is just the opening stages of what might be an epic showdown between two tech giants. It will likely take months (or even years) before this case reaches a judgment or a settlement, meaning a preliminary injunction will definitely have a massive impact on OpenAI’s hardware dreams.