Apple sends legal warning letters to dozens of employees who joined OpenAI

Apple has sent legal warning letters threatening litigation to dozens of former employees who moved to OpenAI.

The company had earlier raised allegations of trade secret theft against OpenAI, the AI industry leader.

The Financial Times, citing multiple sources, reported Friday that Apple sent the letters to about 40 of its former employees now working at OpenAI.

The letters reportedly ordered recipients to preserve all work-related documents and communications and demanded that they meet with Apple's legal team.

The move came just days after Apple filed a major lawsuit against OpenAI and two former Apple executives who had joined the company.

In the complaint, Apple alleged that the two executives, who had worked at Apple for a combined 24 years, took confidential internal information with them when they left for OpenAI.

In court filings, Apple said the evidence included in the lawsuit represents only "the tip of the iceberg" of OpenAI's broader misappropriation of trade secrets.

The dispute has drawn particular attention given its timing: OpenAI is currently working to develop its own AI hardware in partnership with Apple's former chief design officer.

OpenAI rebuffed the lawsuit, saying it lacks any valid basis. "While we take the allegations seriously, we are not aware of any evidence that there is a valid basis for bringing this lawsuit," the company said.

The lawsuit has been characterized as a sign that the relationship between the two Silicon Valley giants has effectively collapsed.

The litigation is also expected to pose a significant legal burden for OpenAI, which is preparing for an initial public offering.

Meanwhile, the two companies had previously maintained a cooperative relationship, including integrating OpenAI technology into Apple's Siri voice assistant. Apple has since partnered with Google, applying a Google AI model to a ChatGPT-style voice and text assistant feature unveiled in June.