OpenAI refutes Apple's lawsuit, stating, 'We would have gladly explained everything if they had consulted us before filing the lawsuit.'
In
Apple is getting this wrong | OpenAI
https://openai.com/index/apple-is-getting-this-wrong/
OpenAI drags Apple's lawsuit into the court of public opinion | The Verge
Apple says more ex-employees may have taken confidential data to OpenAI | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/04/apple-says-more-ex-employees-may-have-taken-confidential-data-to-openai/
OpenAI praised Apple as 'one of the greatest companies of all time, renowned for its meticulous attention to detail,' but described the lawsuit as 'reckless, aggressive, and inexplicably emotional, and not in line with its reputation.'
According to OpenAI, Apple claims to have contacted them in February 2026 regarding this matter, but has admitted that in reality, Apple's external lawyers mistakenly sent an email to the wrong person due to an Asian surname. They also admitted that there were no such discussions regarding Apple's claim that they had spoken with OpenAI's legal director. Furthermore, at that time, they had not made any specific claims as those raised in the lawsuit, and had told OpenAI that the issue was being resolved. They also stated that they had not contacted OpenAI at all for five months until the lawsuit was filed.
Apple's lawsuit targets OpenAI, former VP of Product Affairs Tang Tang, and former engineer Zhang Liu. Apple claims that Tang was involved in poaching talent and Liu in stealing confidential information, but OpenAI says that Apple employees were the ones who contacted Liu in the first place, asking for his cooperation in locating the information.
OpenAI points out that the root cause of this is Apple's failure to properly manage employee access permissions upon resignation, meaning that even employees who are taking the correct steps upon leaving the company can still access Apple's information. This is likely because Apple does not separate personal and business iCloud accounts.
Apple's recommendation to employees to mix work and personal iCloud accounts has resulted in former employees being able to access highly confidential company files even after leaving the company - GIGAZINE
In addition, according to OpenAI, Tan had made it clear to the team that 'we do not seek or use confidential information from other companies.'
OpenAI stated, 'If Apple had shown us these issues before filing the lawsuit, we would have gladly explained everything. We took the allegations in the lawsuit seriously and offered to work with Apple to resolve the issue, but Apple is trying to downplay the allegations, including vague accusations against other former employees, and it is likely they will repeat this tactic in the future.'
OpenAI has also published the iMessage and email exchanges regarding this matter on its official blog.
Apple also claims that, in addition to Tang and Liu, 11 other former employees may be involved in or connected to the issue.
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