Apple Accuses Ex-Engineer of Sending Confidential Data to OpenAI

New evidence has emerged this week in the legal dispute between Apple and OpenAI. The tech giant claims a former engineer deleted company files after becoming aware of an internal probe.

The case now involves over 400 former Apple employees who have joined Sam Altman’s AI lab. Many are said to be working on a secret consumer hardware project at OpenAI.

Lawsuit Gains New Evidence

Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in July in the Northern District of California. The complaint names engineer Chang Liu, who Apple says kept access to company files after leaving.

Apple has since handed Liu’s old work laptop to forensic examiners. However, key exhibits remain blacked out in the public court record.

SHOCKING EVIDENCE FOUND BY APPLE AGAINST OPENAI OF STEALING ITS DATA

The company has accused OpenAI and two former Apple employees of stealing its confidential data as OpenAI ventures into consumer hardware.

Both employees Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan held senior positions at… pic.twitter.com/rqirZ7h1BF

— Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) September 1, 2026

Apple also alleges that Liu recruited OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng to destroy evidence in June. Earlier court filings included text messages where Liu responded with crying-laughing emojis. That detail is significant because OpenAI argues its hires never noticed they still had access.

This move expands Apple’s earlier request for forensic oversight of OpenAI. Elon Musk quickly seized on the case, and he and Sam Altman exchanged insults on X days after the suit was filed.

OpenAI Says Apple Lost the Talent War

OpenAI asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit on August 6. Its 31-page motion leans heavily on a single word.

“Apple should not be permitted to use a baseless and pretextual lawsuit to make up for its shortcomings in the market for talent and retaining its employees, and its failures to integrate AI into its products,” OpenAI motion to dismiss, via Axios

The lab argues that Apple’s own access controls created the vulnerability. It therefore frames the departures as normal employee movement rather than theft.

The hiring record gives that argument weight. OpenAI paid $6.5 billion for Jony Ive’s startup io, and former Apple executives now run its hardware division.

Investors have mostly ignored the Apple OpenAI lawsuit so far. Apple stock (AAPL) closed at $316.85 on Monday, down 0.89% on the session. However, the shares still hold a 16.38% gain for the year and 3.95% over the past month. Pre-market trading was flat on Tuesday.

Every OpenAI hire draws scrutiny, as a viral recruitment rumor showed in August. Wall Street attention to megacaps has thinned this year, yet Apple continues to grind higher.

The Apple OpenAI lawsuit now races against the product calendar. Apple wants an injunction before OpenAI ships a device. OpenAI, meanwhile, wants the case dismissed before discovery reaches its hardware roadmap.

Musk’s separate OpenAI trial already showed how far these fights travel.