OpenAI Calls Apple's Lawsuit 'Careless, Aggressive and Oddly Personal' — Publishes Raw Emails
OpenAI published a detailed rebuttal to Apple’s trade-secret lawsuit on August 4, releasing the internal emails and messages behind the case and calling the suit “careless, aggressive and oddly personal.”
The post, titled “Apple Is Getting This Wrong,” is OpenAI’s first direct, substantive response to Apple’s July complaint, which accused two former Apple employees — Tang Tan and Chang Liu — of carrying confidential hardware design material into their new roles at OpenAI and its hardware subsidiary io Products.
What OpenAI Is Saying
The rebuttal covers three categories of dispute.
Process failures. OpenAI says Apple emailed the wrong person during a five-month pre-litigation period before the suit was filed — a claim OpenAI says it can document from internal records. Apple had the email address wrong; no meaningful engagement occurred.
Factual disputes on the named employees. OpenAI disputes the allegations against Tan and Liu specifically, saying the characterization of what they brought to their new roles is factually inaccurate. OpenAI says it has the documentary record to support this position.
Scale of the allegation. Apple’s July filing noted that more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI — a figure Apple cited to argue systematic knowledge transfer. OpenAI’s response does not dispute the headcount but frames it as normal labor mobility in a competitive industry, not evidence of organized theft.
The rebuttal does not address the specific technical content of what the complaint alleges was misappropriated, which centered on hardware design specifications for products Apple was developing under Jony Ive’s team before his departure.
Background
The relationship between Apple and OpenAI was cooperative until recently. ChatGPT was integrated into Apple’s iOS software under a partnership that gave OpenAI substantial distribution without requiring Apple to build its own frontier language model. The dynamic shifted when OpenAI acquired io Products, the studio founded by former Apple chief design officer Sir Jony Ive, and continued hiring from Apple’s hardware engineering ranks.
Apple filed its complaint in July 2026, naming Tang Tan (a former Vice President of Apple hardware) and Chang Liu alongside OpenAI and io Products. The suit alleged that Tan and Liu carried confidential material — including hardware design documents and supplier relationships — directly into their work on OpenAI’s device ambitions.
OpenAI’s acquisition of io Products, and the subsequent announcement of a $6.5B acquisition of io Inc. led by Ive, represented the most direct competitive challenge Apple has faced in personal computing in years. The lawsuit landed approximately six months after OpenAI’s hardware intentions became clear.
The Stakes
Apple previously sent legal letters to dozens of OpenAI employees and expanded the probe through court filings naming 11 additional former employees. If the trade-secret claims survive motions to dismiss, the case would move to discovery — which would require OpenAI to produce internal communications about its hardware program, supplier contacts, and what Tan and Liu specifically worked on after joining.
OpenAI’s decision to publish raw emails before discovery is notable. It signals confidence in the documentary record — or a strategic choice to shape public perception before the case develops further. The lawsuit is also the first major legal confrontation between OpenAI and a company with which it previously had a significant partnership, and it arrives as OpenAI pushes into hardware while Apple rebuilds Siri as a competing agent.
A hearing date has not been publicly disclosed.