OpenAI on Wednesday asked a U.S. judge to dismiss Apple Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) lawsuit accusing the ChatGPT maker and two former Apple employees of stealing trade secrets to fuel its consumer hardware ambitions
OpenAI Denies Wrongdoing
In a motion to dismiss, OpenAI’s lawyers said the company had no use for Apple’s proprietary information. “OpenAI has no use, need or desire for Apple’s trade secrets,” the filing stated, adding that OpenAI is “building something entirely new and different from anything at Apple.”
The company acknowledged hiring talent from Apple but framed it as standard recruitment, saying it seeks “the best engineers, inventors, developers and creators” drawn by its work.
From Partnership to Legal Rivalry
The relationship between Apple and OpenAI has shifted sharply since their 2024 partnership integrating ChatGPT into Siri and Apple Intelligence.
In the case, Apple has asked the court to compel depositions from former employees Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, OpenAI’s Yu-Ting Peng, and another ex-Apple employee now at OpenAI.
The iPhone maker filed the trade secrets lawsuit in July. Days later, Apple sent preservation notices to roughly 40 former employees now at OpenAI.
Earlier, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed the dispute on X, saying, “I am not afraid of apple, but I have tremendous respect for them.”
Apple’s Vision Pro hardware chief, Paul Meade, had already left for OpenAI in June, joining former Apple executives Jony Ive, Tang Tan and Evans Hankey on its hardware team.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock