Apple accuses OpenAI of using stolen trade secrets to create its upcoming AI gadgets in new lawsuit

Apple accuses OpenAI of using stolen trade secrets to create its upcoming AI gadgets in new lawsuit. Apple sued OpenAI on Friday, alleging the AI company has stolen the iPhone maker's trade secrets to develop its own yet-to-be-unveiled AI gadgets. In the suit, filed in the District Court of Northern California, Apple accuses OpenAI of trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract. "We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets," said Drew Pusateri, a spokesperson for OpenAI. "We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere." The suit names OpenAI; OpenAI's Chang Liu, a former Apple engineer, and OpenAI hardware chief Tang Tan, who previously led iPhone and Apple Watch product design. The lawsuit also named io Products, the company founded by Jony Ive, Apple's design chief until 2019 who helped usher the iPhone into existence. The suit does not name Ive as a defendant, nor does it accuse him of wrongdoing. OpenAI bought io last year. Liu accessed and downloaded "dozens of Apple's confidential hardware-related files, including voluminous, detailed information about unreleased products, engineering presentations, technical specifications, and proprietary project data," the lawsuit says. "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," Apple said in a statement. According to a CNN count of LinkedIn profiles, OpenAI has recently hired at least ten engineers who joined the AI company directly from Apple.