OpenAI Says Apple Used Stolen Files to Build HomeView

OpenAI has filed a lawsuit alleging that a former employee took more than 100 confidential documents, including unreleased hardware designs, and transferred them to Apple before joining the company. The complaint, lodged in court this week, says the files were sent first to a personal email account and that the employee later arranged a briefing for senior Apple managers, including the vice president of Asia operations.

The case moves the competition over AI hardware into a complex legal phase. OpenAI says the materials include detailed images of at least one unreleased device, precise supplier lists, engineering calculations, execution plans and final payment details for an enclosure. Attorneys for OpenAI argue that access to these documents could have allowed Apple to accelerate its AI hardware roadmap unfairly.

What OpenAI says the documents contain

Beyond diagrams and schedules, the complaint points to technical papers on coating and insulation processes for hardware components, topics that are central to the longevity and reliability of advanced equipment. The suit treats those documents as trade secrets and confidential engineering data that go well beyond abstract ideas.

OpenAI directly links Apple’s unveiling of the HomeView smart display and a set of other products to information allegedly revealed in the employee briefing. The company’s lawyers say they are "deeply concerned about the circulation of our trade secrets and confidential data within Apple engineering teams; where specialists could design future products based on our innovations." That sentence appears verbatim in the court filing.

The dispute is a continuation of a bilateral fight over intellectual property, although the roles of plaintiff and defendant differ from prior exchanges between the two companies. OpenAI frames the filing as a defensive move to protect its roadmap and engineering work from what it describes as unauthorized transfers.

Apple has previously accused OpenAI of stealing internal documents and engaging in industrial espionage related to Apple prototypes. The latest complaint does not add a public response from Apple; the company has not issued a statement addressing these new allegations.