The Pulse
OpenAI Says Ex-Employee Sent 100+ Device Files to Personal Accounts
OpenAI alleges a former employee who returned to Apple sent more than 100 confidential files about an unreleased device to personal accounts. The October 14, 2026, court filing also says the former employee presented OpenAI product plans to
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
More than 100 files about an unreleased OpenAI device went to a former employee’s personal accounts, OpenAI alleged in a court filing on October 14. The unnamed employee had joined OpenAI from Apple, worked there for six months and returned to Apple, the filing says. OpenAI alleges that some files were sent just after midnight in Singapore on June 2, the employee’s final day at the company.
Files included device images and manufacturing data
The filing describes detailed images of at least one unreleased device, along with engineering and manufacturing information. It also lists supplier information, project files, standards for cosmetic finishes and reports on coating and sealing hardware components. OpenAI says its ongoing forensic investigation, conducted in connection with Apple’s lawsuit, uncovered the transfers.
OpenAI’s filing also alleges that the former employee presented its product plans to Apple’s senior leadership, including Apple’s vice president of operations in Asia. The company says the presentation appears to have happened months ago, but does not give a more precise date. It does not identify the former employee or say in the filing which Apple leaders received the files themselves.
“OpenAI is very concerned that its trade secret and confidential information is now circulating inside Apple, where Apple engineers can shape Apple’s upcoming products based on OpenAI’s confidential and innovative work.”
OpenAI, in its October 14 court filing
Apple rejects OpenAI’s account
Apple told Reuters it had found no evidence to support OpenAI’s allegations. The company also said it has policies and procedures intended to ensure new employees do not use confidential information from previous employers. The two companies’ competing claims have not been resolved in court.
The allegations arrive in a lawsuit Apple filed on July 10 in the Northern District of California. Apple accuses OpenAI, its hardware unit and former Apple employees of misappropriating Apple trade secrets as OpenAI develops consumer hardware. OpenAI’s new filing reverses the direction of the dispute: it says an employee who moved from Apple to OpenAI and then back to Apple carried information about OpenAI’s own device work into the same company now suing it.
OpenAI asks to investigate before deciding on counterclaims
OpenAI filed the allegations in a supplement to the parties’ case-management statement, not as a filed counterclaim. It asked the court for an opportunity to discuss a schedule that would let it investigate the alleged conduct and, if warranted, bring counterclaims. The filing lists no trial date.
The claims remain allegations by OpenAI, and Apple disputes them. The filing does not establish whether Apple received or used the files, or what the former employee’s presentation contained. For now, OpenAI is asking the court to give it time to investigate before deciding whether to add claims to Apple’s case.