Apple has asked a federal judge to slam the brakes on OpenAI’s hardware ambitions, leading the ChatGPT maker to fire back that the iPhone giant’s own lawyers couldn’t even email the right Asian executive
The Cupertino, Calif.-based behemoth sought a preliminary injunction late Monday barring OpenAI and two former Apple staffers from accessing, using or sharing what it claims are stolen trade secrets, warning the court it faces irreparable harm without one.
Hours later, OpenAI hit back with a blistering blog post that branded the suit “careless, aggressive and oddly personal” — and accused Tim Cook’s Apple of botching basic facts.
Apple had claimed it warned OpenAI about the alleged theft in February and heard nothing back. Those charges were denied by the Sam Altman-led firm.
OpenAI said Apple now admits its outside lawyers emailed the wrong man after mixing up two Asian surnames and the company only came clean once the artificial intelligence giant pointed out the blunder.
“Apple had claimed that they contacted OpenAI in February and that we didn’t respond. They now admit that their outside lawyers emailed the wrong person after confusing two Asian last names — only after we brought this to their attention,” OpenAI said.
Emails published by the company show Weil, Gotshal & Manges partner Gabriel Gross sent his warning letter to OpenAI general counsel Che Chang instead of a former Apple employee surnamed Wang.
Gross also thanked Chang for a phone call that OpenAI says never took place, which is a claim it says Apple has since walked back.
A baffled Chang forwarded the note to Apple’s in-house lawyers, writing that he had never spoken to Gross and did not know who he was.
Gross later apologized for the mix-up and said Wang had offered to cooperate. Then, OpenAI said, Apple went silent for five months — until the iPhone maker sued.
Apple filed its bombshell complaint July 10 in the Northern District of California, accusing OpenAI of running a months-long scheme to loot its hardware secrets as the startup races to build its first consumer device.
The suit names Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer, and Tang Yew Tan, Apple’s ex-vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, who now leads OpenAI’s hardware effort.
Apple claims Liu used a former colleague’s laptop to siphon dozens of confidential hardware files after he quit, while Tan allegedly forwarded supplier details to his personal email and coached incoming hires on skirting Apple’s exit process.
OpenAI called the injunction request needless, insisting it neither holds nor wants any Apple secrets.
The startup also released a trove of iMessages that it says flips Apple’s story on its head. The texts show Apple employees pleading with Liu for help tracking down files and technical details after his final day — with one former colleague joking that Liu was “the best” source, “even if you don’t work here anymore.”
OpenAI said any lingering access to Apple systems stemmed from the iPhone maker’s own sloppy offboarding, which leaves departed workers connected to company files they never asked to keep.
As for Tan, who spent 24 years at Apple, OpenAI said he has always told his team it must not touch confidential material from other companies.
Apple also demanded expedited discovery Monday, asking the judge to order depositions of Liu, Tan, OpenAI staffer Yu-Ting Peng and an unnamed fourth employee who once worked at Apple.
“Apple will be irreparably harmed absent a preliminary injunction,” it said in a filing.
OpenAI agreed to three of Apple’s five demands — which included halting any future access, stopping any use and preserving evidence — but refused to let the tech giant’s lawyers and forensic experts comb through its devices, drives and networks.
The brawl carries huge stakes for both sides. More than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, which analysts believe is developing a phone-like AI device that could lure consumers away from apps, as well and the iPhone itself.
OpenAI defeated a separate legal challenge from Elon Musk’s xAI earlier this year.
The Post has sought comment from Apple, OpenAI and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.