Policy & Regulation
Apple's trade secrets suit puts a cloud over OpenAI's hardware bet
Apple has filed a trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging a pattern of misconduct to obtain confidential information from Apple employees, and analysts say the case could delay OpenAI's hardware plans.
Apple filed a trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI last Friday, accusing the AI company of a pattern of misconduct aimed at getting current and former Apple employees to share confidential information. The complaint names OpenAI’s chief hardware officer, Tang Tan, directly and alleges that more than 400 Apple employees now work at OpenAI. OpenAI responded that it is “not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit.”
Discussing the case on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, reporters Kirsten Korosec, Sean O’Kane and Anthony Ha weighed what it means for OpenAI’s wider hardware ambitions. The company has been building a hardware division alongside designer Jony Ive, allegedly working on a mobile smart speaker as its first product, while also holding a confidential IPO filing that could arrive as early as the end of this year or early next, going by Sam Altman’s own cautious language about the timeline.
O’Kane said the lawsuit is likely to slow that hardware work regardless of whether a court grants an injunction or restraining order, calling such delays “probably part of the reasoning behind Apple doing this” — evidence, in his view, that Apple filed deliberately rather than casually. The timing matters because OpenAI is preparing to pitch its addressable market to bankers and investors ahead of a public listing. O’Kane suggested the hardware business is not yet built into that pitch, since OpenAI’s revenue today is overwhelmingly software — but a lawsuit attached to the same hardware unit could still complicate how investors size up the IPO.
The hosts also weighed how OpenAI is likely to respond, pointing to its recent courtroom win against Elon Musk as a precedent. That trial ended largely in OpenAI’s favor, even though testimony surfaced some uncomfortable details along the way. Korosec predicted OpenAI has concluded it can withstand a trial rather than rush into a settlement, betting the discomfort of another public case is more manageable than conceding ground on trade secrets tied to its hardware roadmap.
Why it matters
A drawn-out trade secrets fight could slow OpenAI’s push into hardware just as it tries to convince bankers and investors that its business extends well beyond software, right as the IPO pricing conversation is getting started.