Apple Accuses OpenAI of Destroying Evidence in Trade Secrets Lawsuit

Apple has accused OpenAI of destroying evidence and using its confidential hardware designs in a new court filing that escalates a high-stakes trade secret lawsuit between the two technology companies. The filing, submitted on August 31, 2026, alleges that a former Apple engineer, Chang Liu, used a proprietary circuit schematic in his work at OpenAI and later instructed a colleague to delete files to conceal the activity.

The dispute stems from a lawsuit Apple filed on July 10, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Apple accused OpenAI and two former employees, Liu and Tang Yew Tan, of misappropriating trade secrets related to hardware design and manufacturing as OpenAI expands into consumer devices. Apple claims that Liu, who left Apple in January 2026 to join OpenAI, retained a company laptop and exploited an authentication bug to access Apple's internal systems and download confidential files.

According to Apple's latest filing, a forensic examination of Liu's MacBook, which was provided to Apple's expert on August 21, revealed that he accessed a confidential power converter circuit schematic in March 2026, months after leaving Apple. Apple...