Apple sues OpenAI and Jony Ive's IO Products over stolen hardware secrets

Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on July 10, alleging that former Apple employees now working at the AI company stole trade secrets related to hardware development. The complaint, filed in federal court, accuses OpenAI of orchestrating "a pattern of theft" through engineers who moved from Apple to the startup. Jony Ive's hardware venture IO Products is also named as a defendant.

The suit arrives as OpenAI expands beyond software into physical devices, a move that reportedly involves collaboration with Ive's design firm. Apple's filing suggests the alleged theft centers on proprietary hardware engineering processes and design methodologies developed internally at Cupertino. The company has not disclosed which specific products or technologies are at the center of the dispute, though OpenAI has publicly discussed ambitions to build consumer AI hardware beyond chatbots and API services.

Neither OpenAI nor IO Products has issued a public response to the complaint. Apple's legal team will need to demonstrate that the accused engineers accessed and transferred confidential materials, a burden that often hinges on forensic evidence of data exfiltration or documented non-compete violations. The case could also test the enforceability of Apple's employee agreements in the context of the AI hardware race, where talent poaching has become routine.

Watch for OpenAI's formal response in the coming weeks and any motion to dismiss on jurisdictional or standing grounds. If the case survives early challenges, discovery could surface internal communications that clarify how much hardware planning OpenAI has actually undertaken — and whether any of it traces back to Apple IP.