Apple Sends Legal Letters to 40 Former Employees Now Working at OpenAI Over Trade Secrets

Apple has sent legal letters to approximately 40 former employees who now work at OpenAI, according to the Financial Times. The move escalates an existing civil lawsuit between Apple and OpenAI over trade secrets, targeting the flow of talent from Cupertino to one of its most prominent AI competitors.

The Letters

The cease-and-desist letters target former Apple staff who moved to OpenAI, according to reports from the Financial Times and Seeking Alpha. The correspondence is part of Apple’s broader effort to protect intellectual property as the AI talent market intensifies. Apple has historically been aggressive about enforcing non-disclosure agreements and trade secret protections, but the scale of this action, targeting roughly 40 individuals at a single competitor, signals a sharper posture.

Competitive Context

The timing matters. OpenAI is preparing for public markets, reportedly targeting a 2027 IPO after its $122 billion funding round closed earlier this year at an $852 billion valuation. Apple, which partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into Siri and Apple Intelligence, is simultaneously competing with the company across multiple AI product categories.

The talent pipeline between the two companies runs both directions. Apple has recruited from OpenAI’s ranks as it builds out its own foundation model capabilities, and OpenAI has drawn heavily from Apple’s engineering, design, and machine learning teams. The legal letters suggest Apple views the outbound talent flow as carrying proprietary knowledge that risks ending up in OpenAI’s products.

IP Protection in the AI Talent War

Apple’s approach reflects a broader pattern across Big Tech. Companies including Google, Meta, and Microsoft have all tightened IP protection policies as AI engineers and researchers command premium compensation packages and frequently move between firms. The concern is not abstract: foundational model training techniques, data processing pipelines, and chip design methodologies developed at one company can materially accelerate a competitor’s roadmap.

For OpenAI specifically, the legal pressure arrives at a sensitive moment. The company is transitioning from a capped-profit structure to a full for-profit entity, a conversion that will face regulatory scrutiny. Legal entanglements with a company as well-resourced as Apple add complexity to that transition and to any future public offering.