Apple's 41-page trade-secret complaint against OpenAI sets out allegations about exit procedures, device handling and hardware-staff recruitment, according to TechCrunch, which reviewed the court filing and selected the most detailed claims from the case.

The lawsuit centres on Apple's claims, not a court finding.

OpenAI has publicly responded only through a statement shared on X saying it has no interest in other companies' trade secrets and remains focused on building products that help people, TechCrunch reported.

Complaint Names Exit-Process Allegations

The complaint says the alleged misconduct was not limited to rogue employees.

It described the conduct as “normalised and exemplified by leadership,” language used to argue that the case concerns OpenAI's culture and not only individual departures.

Another passage used the phrase “rotten to its core” and connected that language to the claim that OpenAI was working on hardware that could challenge the iPhone maker.

Apple alleged that OpenAI coached departing Apple employees on how to avoid company exit procedures, TechCrunch reported.

The filing described those procedures as the “dreaded walkout,” and said candidates were told to reduce the chance that alleged trade-secret theft would be detected.

Filing Describes Network Storage And Device-Access Claims

The filing alleges that Chang Liu, a former senior systems electrical engineer at Apple who later joined OpenAI, sent an Apple employee a message saying he could access network storage.

It also alleged that Liu texted within hours of leaving Apple that he still had another computer.

Another section said Tang Yew Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer and an Apple veteran of 24 years, directed candidates who still worked at Apple to take Apple devices from the office.

The filing also alleged that departing employees were advised to notify OpenAI as soon as possible if Apple asked them to sign anything while quitting.

The complaint cited more than four hundred former Apple employees now working at OpenAI.

That figure supported the complaint's claim that the dispute extends beyond a small number of staff moves.

OpenAI Statement Rejects Interest In Trade Secrets

OpenAI's public response, cited by TechCrunch, said the company has no interest in other companies' trade secrets.

The statement said OpenAI remains focused on building products that help people, but the account did not identify a detailed legal response to each allegation in the complaint.

The complaint also cited io, a company founded by former Apple employees including Jony Ive.

The filing alleged that io accessed and used Apple secret, proprietary industrial-design techniques, processes and know-how related to metal finishing.

The filing used the phrase “tip of the iceberg” for the alleged misconduct.

The passage was offered as Apple's claim that the conduct described in the complaint was only part of what the company believes happened.

Court Record Still Lacks A Ruling On Apple's Claims

The account says Apple tried to resolve the situation outside court before filing the case.

The court record cited by TechCrunch does not include a court ruling, a discovery timetable, a damages figure, a detailed OpenAI legal answer, or judicial findings on Apple's trade-secret allegations.