Apple lawsuit threatens OpenAI hardware plans and $852bn IPO
Apple’s trade-secret lawsuit against OpenAI risks delaying the startup’s first device and clouding its path to a public listing at an $852bn valuation.
Apple sued OpenAI on Friday, accusing the artificial intelligence company of stealing hardware trade secrets. The legal action stems from a soured partnership over integrating ChatGPT into Siri. It directly targets the startup's ambitions to build a rival to the iPhone.
OpenAI purchased the design firm io, co-founded by Jony Ive, for roughly $6.5bn in May 2025 to anchor this hardware push. The company plans to announce its first device this year and ship it in 2027. However, the lawsuit now shadows every design decision made by that team.
More than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, including Apple’s former smart-glasses chief, hired as recently as June. Apple’s complaint alleges OpenAI hardware chief Tang Tan created a checklist to help new hires dodge Apple’s exit security. The filing cites a departing engineer who texted a colleague: “LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage]”.
California courts do not enforce non-compete clauses, meaning Apple must prove specific misconduct like unauthorised access or coached evasion. To that end, Apple alleges OpenAI used a shared manufacturing partner to execute a proprietary metal-finishing technique. The complaint claims OpenAI misled the supplier into believing Apple had approved the work.
For investors, the immediate danger is not a final verdict, which could take years, but the operational drag. Legal reviews, depositions and tighter internal controls pull engineers away from product development at a company that burns cash “at a historic pace”. Analysts expect Apple to secure early, targeted relief that forces OpenAI to isolate disputed material and certify compliance without a jury.
A court could also order a product redesign if Apple proves its secrets were used. This disruption arrives as OpenAI heads toward a public listing after its valuation surged from about $29bn in 2023 to $852bn by April 2026. The company has raised more than $180bn but already faces scrutiny from 42 state attorneys general and stiff competition from Anthropic.
OpenAI states it has “no interest in other companies’ trade secrets”. Yet the reality for the market is that every month spent navigating litigation is a month lost in the race to ship a device. Apple, meanwhile, continues advancing its own hardware roadmap, buying itself the one thing OpenAI can least afford to lose: time.
