Apple accuses OpenAI employee of destroying evidence of stolen data amid ongoing lawsuit

In a new court filing, Apple has accused its former employee, Chang Liu, of stealing confidential designs for OpenAI. The company claims that Liu then tried to destroy the evidence.Apple says it has found shocking evidence in its lawsuit against OpenAI.Apple has stepped up its legal fight against OpenAI. In a new court filing, Apple has accused OpenAI of stealing confidential designs via a former Apple employee, and then destroying evidence. This filing is part of an ongoing lawsuit where Apple accuses OpenAI of stealing trade secrets. So far, OpenAI has denied all claims.According to Apple’s latest filing, OpenAI only recently handed over a key piece of evidence – an Apple-issued MacBook that its former engineer Chang Liu had been using after leaving the company.Apple accuses engineer of stealing design, destroying evidenceApple says an initial forensic review of the MacBook found that Liu used the device to download a confidential Apple circuit schematic. This circuit design, the company claims, was used by Liu at OpenAI. The company adds that Chang Liu and others at OpenAI were “well aware” that he still had unauthorised access to Apple’s third-party cloud storage providers.Apple argues that Chang Liu tried to destroy evidence after learning that Apple was investigating him. To do this, the company says, Liu “sent instructions for destroying evidence to an OpenAI colleague.” The filing calls this “shocking evidence.” It adds that the MacBook was part of the very limited information the defendants (OpenAI and Liu) had produced so far, and only after weeks of delay. “Apple is not conducting ‘fishing expeditions’ but that its trade secrets are being used and evidence is being destroyed,” Apple’s lawyers wrote.Much of the new material remains sealed or redacted in the public record. However, earlier court filings included text messages attributed to Liu, punctuated with “crying laughing” emojis, which Apple said showed he knew he still had access to Apple files after leaving the company. The judge is scheduled to hear arguments on Apple’s motion on 1 October. To give you some context, OpenAI shared a blog post last month over this lawsuit. The AI startup wrote, “We do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets.” At the time, OpenAI shared internal messages that showed Apple employees asking Liu for help locating and transferring files after his last day on January 22, 2026. The AI startup claimed that Apple was trying to blame “residual access”, while not disclosing that former employees could still access files because Apple had failed to manage system access properly when they left.As part of the lawsuit, Apple is seeking monetary damages and an order directing OpenAI to stop the alleged conduct and destroy any proprietary materials. Liu, who left Apple for OpenAI in January, is central to the dispute. Apple says he is one of more than 400 former Apple employees now working at OpenAI, which has been moving into hardware products.The case comes amid a wider breakdown in what had once been a cordial relationship between the two companies. As per reports, that relationship has frayed over the past year, especially after OpenAI brought in former Apple design chief Jony Ive to work on planned hardware products. It is believed that the first hardware device from OpenAI is likely a doughnut-shaped smart speaker.- EndsPublished By: Armaan AgarwalPublished On: Sep 1, 2026 11:46 IST