OpenAI says an ex-employee took 100+ files on an unreleased device to Apple
What's the deal? OpenAI alleges that a former employee took more than 100 files related to an unreleased hardware device before leaving the company to join Apple, Reuters reports — a mirror image of the trade-secret dispute Apple has separately pursued against departing staff.
The twist: The employee's career path ran Apple → OpenAI → Apple. According to the report, the files — including images, engineering material and supplier data — were sent from the employee's OpenAI accounts around midnight Singapore time on their last day at the company. Apple has said it searched its own systems and found nothing matching OpenAI's allegations, and that the employee had pitched the material to one of Apple's Asia operations vice presidents.
Why it matters: OpenAI has been building hardware of its own, making the handling of unreleased-device files especially sensitive as it and Apple increasingly compete for the same talent and, potentially, the same product categories.
The signal: As AI labs and device makers chase overlapping hardware ambitions, trade-secret fights that once ran one direction — incumbents accusing departing staff of leaking to upstarts — are starting to run the other way too.
Read more: Reuters via Investing.com
Image credit: Bernie Goldbach
