Apple Unveils ‘Shocking Evidence’ in OpenAI Trade Secrets Case

- Apple presents forensic findings alleging ex-employee gave OpenAI a hardware boost - High-stakes court hearing set for October 1, 2026, could reshape hardware competition On September 1, 2026, CoinDesk reported that Apple had presented forensic evidence in a U.S. court, alleging that its former engineer, Chang Liu, accessed and used confidential hardware schematics and internal engineering tools after joining OpenAI. According to CoinDesk, Apple stated that Liu retained dozens of confidential files, including a proprietary circuit diagram, on the MacBook he used after leaving the company, and that he subsequently ran simulations using this schematic as part of his work for OpenAI. According to Apple’s filing as reported by CoinDesk on September 1, 2026, Liu also operated an internal engineering tool at OpenAI that had the same name as Apple’s proprietary software. In addition, Apple claimed that he coordinated wiping evidence after learning of Apple’s internal investigation, thereby attempting to remove traces of the alleged misconduct. On August 31, 2026, Bloomberg reported that Apple claimed these actions gave OpenAI direct benefits in hardware development and that evidence had been actively destroyed. On the same day, Mashable reported that Apple urged the court to order immediate discovery and impose sanctions against the parties involved, arguing that swift measures were necessary to prevent further spoliation of evidence. Meanwhile, OpenAI, in response, denied intentional misuse of Apple’s files and said any access occurred because Apple allegedly failed to revoke former staff credentials. As reported by Bloomberg on August 31, 2026, OpenAI maintained that there was no deliberate theft of intellectual property and that any overlap in access was inadvertent rather than part of a coordinated effort. The court is scheduled to hold a hearing on October 1, 2026, and, at that hearing, the judge is expected to decide on expedited evidence gathering and possible sanctions. As a result, the outcome could significantly impact the future hardware ambitions of both Apple and OpenAI, while also setting an important precedent for how courts handle alleged trade secret misuse in the rapidly evolving AI hardware sector.