Apple Asks Court to Freeze OpenAI's Device Program, Names 11 More Ex-Employees
The Apple versus OpenAI trade-secrets fight escalated sharply on August 4. In a new filing, Apple asked for a preliminary injunction that would bar OpenAI from developing AI devices or products based on Apple technology, and requested expedited discovery from the two accused former employees, Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, plus OpenAI and the io hardware startup it absorbed.
The filing also widens the cast. Apple says its investigation surfaced 11 additional former employees who may have been witnesses or involved. The details read like an exit-interview horror reel: one former employee allegedly discussed unannounced-product information with Liu before an OpenAI interview, another took screenshots of confidential documents about an unannounced Apple product before interviewing at OpenAI, and several ex-Apple people now at OpenAI reached out about returning Apple-issued devices they had kept.
The suit filed July 10 was about two people. An injunction on OpenAI's entire device program is about the roadmap. OpenAI paid billions for io and Jony Ive precisely to ship hardware, and a court order slowing that down would matter more than any damages figure. For everyone else, the talent war between the two most valuable ecosystems in tech just got a legal chokepoint.
Coverage at techcrunch.com, August 4. HN discussion passed 280 points.
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The filing also widens the cast. Apple says its investigation surfaced 11 additional former employees who may have been witnesses or involved. The details read like an exit-interview horror reel: one former employee allegedly discussed unannounced-product information with Liu before an OpenAI interview, another took screenshots of confidential documents about an unannounced Apple product before interviewing at OpenAI, and several ex-Apple people now at OpenAI reached out about returning Apple-issued devices they had kept.
The suit filed July 10 was about two people. An injunction on OpenAI's entire device program is about the roadmap. OpenAI paid billions for io and Jony Ive precisely to ship hardware, and a court order slowing that down would matter more than any damages figure. For everyone else, the talent war between the two most valuable ecosystems in tech just got a legal chokepoint.
Coverage at techcrunch.com, August 4. HN discussion passed 280 points.
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