An email mix‑up by Apple’s outside counsel shattered talks with OpenAI before Apple filed a trade‑secret lawsuit. NBC News reports that Gabriel Gross Rez, representing Apple at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, mistakenly sent a second email to OpenAI general counsel Che Chang instead of to former Apple employee Wang. The first message, sent Friday, alleged that Chang Liu and Tang Tan stole confidential hardware data to help OpenAI’s consumer‑device plans.

In February, Apple had warned OpenAI that its proprietary information could be leaking and asked for a remediation plan; OpenAI said it had responded, but the misdirected follow‑up caused confusion. Chang, believing he was being targeted with false claims, contacted two Apple in‑house lawyers and demanded Gross be removed. Gross apologized, but the exchange halted further negotiations. OpenAI claims it had no record of subsequent outreach until Apple filed its lawsuit.

The case now proceeds with Apple accusing the ex‑employees of theft, while OpenAI disputes the allegations. Apple’s suit alleges the two ex‑employees used internal designs to accelerate OpenAI’s hardware roadmap, a claim OpenAI denies. The dispute underscores the high stakes in AI hardware development, with both firms vying for technological advantage and fearing intellectual‑property leaks.