Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, accusing it of trade secret theft and of orchestrating a systematic campaign to recruit its employees and appropriate technology owned by the Cupertino company. The lawsuit, filed on 10 July 2026 before a federal court, shakes the foundations of an alliance that until now seemed solid.
According to the court documents, Apple alleges that senior executives and key employees of the company left for OpenAI taking with them confidential information about artificial intelligence technologies that Apple had been secretly working on for years. The lawsuit describes the alleged scheme as something that occurred “at all levels” within OpenAI, and specifically points to two former Apple employees who now hold positions of responsibility at Sam Altman’s company.
The case is especially significant because both companies had maintained a high-profile alliance since 2024, when Apple integrated ChatGPT into the iPhone’s operating system as part of Apple Intelligence. That integration allowed iPhone users to access ChatGPT directly from Siri and other system tools, and was presented as a milestone in the collaboration between two tech giants with very different approaches to AI.
Tension between Apple and OpenAI is nothing new. Apple has traditionally maintained an extremely closed approach to its technological development, prioritizing user privacy and control over its ecosystem. OpenAI, for its part, has opted for a more open strategy (at least in its early days), although in recent years it has also been closing off access to the technical details of its most advanced models.
Legal experts note that the case could have far-reaching implications for the tech industry. If Apple manages to prove that there was a systematic appropriation of trade secrets, it could set a precedent for how AI companies recruit talent from competitors. In a market where engineers specialized in AI are one of the most coveted resources, lawsuits for trade secret theft could multiply.
For its part, OpenAI has not yet issued an official statement about the lawsuit, although sources close to the company suggest they will argue that the knowledge their employees gained at Apple is general engineering skills, not protected trade secrets.
The case promises to be one of the most closely watched tech trials of the year, pitting two of the most influential companies in the sector against each other in a legal battle that will define how competition works in the age of artificial intelligence.
Sources: CNBC, Reuters, The New York Times, 9to5Mac (10-11 July 2026)
