1 September 2026
Apple alleges ex-engineer stole secrets to help OpenAI
First reported
Prompt Engineering Daily and TechCrunch ran this on , all on the same day.
- Apple claims Chang Liu, a former senior engineer now at OpenAI, accessed confidential power converter circuit schematics after leaving Apple and used them in his work.
- Liu's old work laptop, turned over by his lawyer this month, contained evidence of the alleged misuse along with a tool matching an internal Apple application name.
- Apple alleges Liu worked with OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng to destroy evidence in June after learning of Apple's investigation, and that OpenAI was aware of Liu's access.
- OpenAI previously stated Liu only accessed Apple files after employment ended to help former colleagues, claiming Apple failed to revoke his access properly.
How it was covered
Prompt Engineering DailyAadit Sheth
Apple filed evidence in its trade secrets lawsuit claiming former senior electrical engineer Chang Liu accessed Apple power converter circuit schematics after joining OpenAI, then used them to train an AI agent in March. This extends Apple's July lawsuit alleging OpenAI hired over 400 former Apple employees including the founding team from Jony Ive's io Products acquisition, with OpenAI's response due September 4.
Reported by TechCrunch