Apple has filed a federal lawsuit accusing OpenAI and two former employees of stealing top-secret information regarding its unreleased technologies. The iPhone maker alleges that OpenAI, led by former Apple design chief Jony Ive's io studio, has systematically hired Apple employees to illicitly obtain hardware designs and confidential product details.

The legal action stems from an internal Apple investigation that identified significant evidence of misconduct. Apple claims this pattern of behavior is "normalized and exemplified by leadership" at OpenAI, impacting its nascent hardware business. The lawsuit specifically names Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer, who allegedly shared confidential supplier information before leaving Apple, and Chang Liu, a former electrical engineer accused of exploiting network vulnerabilities to steal trade secrets.

This lawsuit marks a sharp deterioration in the relationship between the two tech giants. While OpenAI was an early AI partner for Apple, integrating ChatGPT into Siri, Apple has since shifted to Google for some AI features. OpenAI's acquisition of Ive's io studio for $6.4 billion and its subsequent hiring of Apple talent signal its ambition to compete directly with Apple in consumer devices, making the protection of intellectual property a critical battleground.