Apple is not done with its legal offensive against OpenAI. One week after filing a blockbuster lawsuit in the Northern District of California accusing OpenAI and two former employees of stealing confidential hardware trade secrets, Apple has sent formal legal preservation letters to approximately 40 additional former employees who currently work at the ChatGPT maker, according to reporting by the Financial Times. The letters instruct recipients to preserve documents, records, emails, and communications that may be relevant to the ongoing legal dispute and demand that each recipient arrange a meeting with Apple’s legal team.
Unlike a lawsuit, a preservation letter does not name someone as a defendant. But the message it sends is unmistakable: Apple believes the alleged theft of its confidential information extends well beyond the two individuals it named in its original complaint, and it is building a case to prove it.
“Apple has sent legal preservation letters to around 40 former employees now at OpenAI, per FT. The letters tell recipients to preserve documents and communications as part of Apple’s trade secret lawsuit. Over 400 ex-Apple employees currently work at OpenAI.”~9to5Mac
Who Apple Is Already Suing: Tang Tan, Chang Liu, And The Stolen Laptop
The original lawsuit filed on July 10, 2026 named two former Apple employees as co-defendants alongside OpenAI, io Products, and several OpenAI corporate entities. The first is Tang Yew Tan known as Tang Tan, a 24-year Apple veteran who served as Vice President of Product Design for iPhone and Apple Watch before leaving to become Chief Hardware Officer at OpenAI. The second is Chang Liu, a former senior systems electrical engineer at Apple who joined OpenAI in 2026.
Apple’s complaint against Liu includes a striking specific allegation: that he failed to return an Apple-issued laptop after leaving the company and used that computer to download confidential Apple technical documents including information about unannounced technologies, features, and products, technical specifications, engineering presentations, and proprietary project data. Liu is also accused of coaching at least one Apple employee applying for a job at OpenAI, advising them on what to study before their interview in a way that implicitly involved sharing inside knowledge about Apple’s internal workings.
The lawsuit recounts a months-long strategy in which OpenAI instructed Apple interviewers to provide information regarding unreleased gadgets, components, manufacturing methods, and vendor relationships. Apple claims that OpenAI exploited this information to speed its own AI hardware goals, which are being developed under the io Products organization co-founded by Jony Ive.
“Apple has reportedly sent legal preservation letters to around 40 former employees now at OpenAI. The letters direct recipients to preserve documents and schedule meetings with Apple lawyers. This follows Apple’s lawsuit accusing OpenAI and two ex-employees of trade secret theft.”~MacRumors
400-Plus Former Apple Staff At OpenAI And A Case Apple Says Is Just The Beginning:
The most striking figure in Apple’s legal case is one that the company itself revealed: more than 400 former Apple employees now work for OpenAI. That figure underpins the larger preservation letter campaign: if Apple’s allegations involve a coordinated recruitment and information extraction strategy, limiting the probe to the two persons already mentioned would leave the majority of the accused conspiracy untested.
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” Apple’s filing states. “Apple lacks visibility into what’s been happening behind closed doors at OpenAI, where such misconduct is normalized and exemplified by leadership.” Apple also noted in its complaint that it sent a letter to OpenAI in February 2026 raising its concerns about the conduct and received no response.
The lawsuit requests that OpenAI be barred from using any Apple-derived information in the development of its hardware devices, that all confidential Apple materials be returned, and that evidence be preserved. Apple is also seeking monetary damages from both individual defendants for breach of their employment contracts.
“Apple has targeted dozens of OpenAI employees with personal legal warnings, sending preservation letters to ~40 former Apple staff now at OpenAI directing them to preserve documents and demanding meetings with Apple’s lawyers as its trade secret lawsuit widens.”~The Irish Times
OpenAI Denies The Allegations But The IPO Cloud Is Real:
OpenAI has pushed back against the lawsuit with two separate statements. Its spokesperson Drew Pusateri told reporters: “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.” A second OpenAI spokesperson said the company is “not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit.”
The timing of the lawsuit could not be more consequential for OpenAI. The company is preparing for its highly anticipated IPO targeted for September 2026 at a valuation of up to $1 trillion and a lawsuit alleging that its entire hardware business rests on misappropriated trade secrets creates a significant legal overhang that will need to be disclosed in its public offering documents. The relationship between the two companies had previously been cordial enough to produce a partnership integrating ChatGPT into Siri. Apple has since moved its AI assistant partnership to Google instead.
For the 40 recipients of Apple’s preservation letters, the stakes are personal. While they have not been sued, each has been formally placed on notice that their communications, files, and devices may be sought as evidence and that any deletion of potentially relevant material after receiving a preservation letter could constitute spoliation of evidence, a serious legal exposure in its own right.
