Filing: OpenAI denies Apple's allegations of trade secret theft, saying "this dispute is a mess of Apple's own making, and it is trying to blame everyone else" (Deepa Seetharaman/Reuters)

OpenAI has denied Apple's allegations of trade secret theft, stating that the iPhone maker has failed to show any confidential information was stolen by former employees. According to OpenAI, "this dispute is a mess of Apple's own making, and it is trying to blame everyone else." The company made this statement in a filing in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California.

The lawsuit was filed by Apple in July, accusing OpenAI and former Apple employees Tang Tan and Chang Liu of misappropriating trade secrets related to hardware design, manufacturing, and supply-chain operations. OpenAI, led by CEO Sam Altman, claims that Apple is using the lawsuit to slow a potential competitor and discourage employee departures. OpenAI has hired around 400 employees from Apple for its hardware initiative, according to court filings.

The two companies had previously forged a partnership two years ago to boost ChatGPT's reach and help Apple gain a firmer footing in AI, but the relationship quickly soured as competition in the AI industry intensified. OpenAI argues that California law allows employees to freely move between rivals.

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, Investing.com, The Business Times - Companies & Markets, TechCentral, Economic Times Tech — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.