Apple disputes accusation that former OpenAI employee brought confidential files to rival

Published October 14, 2026 3:22pm ET | Updated October 14, 2026 3:22pm ET



Apple has denied an accusation from OpenAI that one of the AI company’s former employees brought confidential files on an unreleased OpenAI device to the iPhone maker.

The frontier AI lab claimed an unnamed employee, who worked for Apple before and after joining OpenAI for six months, sent over 100 confidential files to his personal accounts. Some of those files were allegedly sent on June 2, the worker’s last day at OpenAI. The information in question pertained to an in-development OpenAI product that may rival Apple’s technology.

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