Why Apple is Suing OpenAI Over ‘Stealing Trade Secrets’
Morning Brew Daily
Jul 13, 2026
Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the company systematically poached talent to steal sensitive hardware trade secrets. As OpenAI pivots toward building physical AI products, Apple claims former employees downloaded confidential files and brought proprietary parts to interviews, signaling a major breakdown in their once-promising partnership.
Key insight: Apple’s lawsuit explicitly cites a former employee’s internal message: "LOL, I found out I can access the network storage so funny," which Apple claims confirms the unauthorized acquisition of sensitive hardware files.
