Apple has sued OpenAI, alleging that former employees Chang Liu and Alyssa Peng stole its trade secrets for OpenAI. The complaint, filed on Friday in the Northern District of California, names OpenAI, io Products, Liu, and OpenAI’s hardware chief Tang Tan as defendants, accusing them of trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract. Apple is seeking an injunction and damages. Liu, a senior electrical engineer who spent eight years at Apple, left on January 22, 2026, and allegedly did not return a company-owned computer. Within hours, he told Peng, who was still at Apple, that he “still have another computer” to access confidential information. On or around February 9, Liu discovered continued access to Apple’s network storage, a vulnerability unknown to Apple. Instead of reporting it, he messaged Peng: “LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny.” She replied: “I’m ready.” The complaint alleges Liu then accessed and downloaded dozens of confidential files, including technical presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, and a compilation of technical files.