OpenAI accuses ex-employee of taking 100+ files to Apple

By Marcus Bennett

OpenAI claims a former employee took more than 100 files containing its product plans before joining Apple. In a document filed on Wednesday, October 14, OpenAI accuses the unnamed employee of sending the material to a personal account and then presenting it to Apple leadership, including the vice president of the company's operations in Asia.

Reuters reported the filing earlier. The Verge obtained the document, which is now public on DocumentCloud.

The stakes are straightforward. The files, according to OpenAI's allegation, contain images of at least one unreleased device, supplier information, engineering data, and project files.

What does the filing actually allege?

The document, filed Wednesday, lays out a specific sequence of events. An employee leaves OpenAI. Before departing, that person transfers more than 100 files to a personal account. The employee then joins Apple. OpenAI alleges the individual subsequently presented the material to Apple leadership — a group that, per the filing, included the VP responsible for Apple's Asia operations.

OpenAI did not name the employee in the filing.

The category of material at issue is the core of the claim:

• Images of at least one unreleased device
• Supplier information
• Engineering data
• Project files

That inventory matters. Supplier relationships and engineering files tied to an unreleased device sit at the center of what trade secret law protects: information that derives economic value from not being public.

Why does this filing matter beyond one employee?

This filing does not stand alone. It forms part of a broader legal battle between Apple and OpenAI over trade secrets, a conflict The Verge has previously documented in detail. What changes the picture here is the direction of the accusation. In earlier chapters of the dispute, the roles differed. This time, OpenAI is doing the accusing.

The reversal carries weight for one reason: the two companies are competitors in consumer AI. Unreleased device plans, supplier pipelines, and engineering data are precisely the assets that determine who ships a product first and at what cost. An allegation that such material crossed from one camp to the other — and reached named-level leadership at Apple — escalates the dispute from a contractual fight into a question of direct competitive advantage.

The filing's specificity is its sharpest feature. OpenAI does not allege abstract misappropriation. It alleges a countable transfer — more than 100 files — a named delivery mechanism (a personal account), and a named audience tier within Apple (leadership, including the Asia operations VP).

What happens next in the Apple–OpenAI dispute?

The filing's existence, dated Wednesday and reported by Reuters on the same news cycle, signals that OpenAI has chosen a formal legal channel rather than private resolution for this allegation. The document is accessible through DocumentCloud, which places the core claims in public view while the underlying dispute proceeds.

The open questions now fall to the court. Whether the transferred files qualify as protected trade secrets, whether Apple used the material, and what remedies apply are all matters the legal battle between the two companies will have to resolve. For now, the record shows one hard fact: OpenAI alleges that more than 100 files about an unreleased device moved from its systems to Apple's leadership chain, and it has put that claim in writing.