Apple Unveils ‘Compelling Evidence’ Against Ex-Employee Accused of Data Theft for OpenAI

In its lawsuit against OpenAI, Apple has presented what it terms “alarming evidence” to bolster its claims that former employees improperly appropriated trade secrets for the benefit of OpenAI. This new information emerged after the legal team for Chang Liu, a former Apple employee currently at OpenAI, submitted Liu’s old Apple work laptop for analysis earlier this month.

Apple now claims that Liu utilized a confidential Apple circuit schematic during his time at OpenAI, alongside a tool named after an internal Apple engineering application. The company asserts that OpenAI was “fully aware” of Liu’s access to Apple data and that Liu solicited the assistance of OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng to destroy evidence in June upon realizing that Apple was investigating him.

“The MacBook reflects the very limited information Defendants have provided thus far (and only after weeks of delay), demonstrating that Apple is not engaged in ‘fishing expeditions’ but rather that its trade secrets are being utilized and evidence is being obliterated,” the filing states.

While this new evidence remains redacted from public view, previous documents submitted by Apple have disclosed text messages from Liu—frequently interspersed with “crying laughing” emojis—suggesting he was conscious of his ongoing access to Apple files.

OpenAI has previously backed Liu, asserting that he only accessed Apple files after his employment to assist former colleagues who sought his aid. “Apple is now attempting to shift the blame to ‘residual access,’ but they fail to reveal that this is a prevalent issue at Apple, arising from their inability to effectively manage system access when employees leave,” OpenAI stated in a blog post earlier this month.

On the other hand, Apple argues that Liu retained access by “exploiting a rare, previously unknown authentication vulnerability.”

TechCrunch has contacted OpenAI for comments on Apple’s latest accusations.

Apple is seeking a preliminary injunction—a court order that would inhibit OpenAI from developing hardware based on Apple’s technology while the legal case is ongoing—as well as expedited discovery, a swift process for gathering evidence, since the company alleges that other former employees may also be implicated.

As per Apple’s initial legal filing, over 400 former Apple employees are now working at OpenAI.