Apple has submitted what it calls “shocking evidence” in its trade-secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, adding new allegations that a former employee used confidential engineering material in his work and sought help destroying evidence after learning he was under investigation.
The claims concern Chang Liu, a former Apple employee who now works at OpenAI. His legal counsel provided Liu’s old Apple work laptop for examination earlier this month, after which Apple filed the new material.
The evidence itself is redacted from public view. That makes the latest account a set of allegations by Apple rather than facts established by a court. OpenAI has previously disputed the company’s broader interpretation of Liu’s access to Apple files.
Apple points to a schematic and internal tool
Apple alleges that Liu used a confidential circuit schematic while working at OpenAI. It also says he used a tool sharing a name with an internal Apple engineering application. According to the filing, OpenAI knew about Liu’s access to Apple information.
The company further claims that Liu enlisted OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng to help destroy evidence in June, when Liu learned Apple was investigating him. Apple argues that the laptop shows its inquiry is not an unsupported attempt to search for wrongdoing, but a response to trade secrets being used and evidence being removed.
Because the supporting material is sealed, the public cannot independently assess the schematic, the tool or the alleged deletion. TechCrunch said it requested comment from OpenAI on the newest allegations.
Earlier public filings included text messages in which Liu appeared aware that he retained access to Apple files after leaving the company. Apple says that continuing access resulted from Liu exploiting a rare and previously unknown authentication bug.
OpenAI disputes Apple’s account of access
OpenAI previously defended Liu by saying he accessed Apple material after his employment ended only to assist former colleagues who asked for help. The company argued that Apple failed to manage residual access properly when employees left and was trying to shift responsibility for that weakness.
Those positions frame the core factual dispute. Apple portrays the access as deliberate exploitation tied to confidential work; OpenAI portrays it as a consequence of Apple’s own access-management problem and assistance to former colleagues.
The new allegation of evidence destruction raises the stakes because it concerns conduct after the investigation began, not only how Liu obtained or used files. Yet it remains unproven, and OpenAI’s response to the latest filing was not included in TechCrunch’s report.
Apple’s initial complaint said more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI. That number supplies context for the company’s concern about employee movement, but it does not imply that those workers transferred confidential information.
Apple seeks limits on OpenAI hardware work
Apple is asking the court for a preliminary injunction that would prevent OpenAI from working on hardware based on Apple technology while the lawsuit continues. It also wants expedited discovery, a faster process for collecting evidence, because it alleges that additional former employees may be involved.
A preliminary injunction would impose restrictions before the underlying case is decided, so Apple must persuade the court that immediate action is justified. TechCrunch’s report does not state that the court has accepted Apple’s claims or granted either request.
The requested order shows why an employment dispute has broader strategic importance. Apple is linking the alleged information transfer to OpenAI’s hardware development, an area where confidential circuit designs and internal engineering tools could carry commercial value.
For technology companies competing for scarce AI talent, the case illustrates the legal tension created when employees move with deep institutional knowledge. The boundary between experience a worker may use and protected material a company owns is central to trade-secret litigation.
Apple now says the recovered laptop provides evidence of use and attempted concealment. OpenAI has previously contested the premise that Liu’s access proves theft. Until the redacted material is tested and the court rules, the case remains a conflict between sharply different accounts rather than a finding of misconduct.
