This article is based on a civil complaint filed by Apple Inc. on July 10, 2026, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California (Case: Apple Inc. v. Liu et al). Tang Yew Tan, Chang Liu, and OpenAI are defendants, not convicted parties. None of the allegations have been proven in court. We will update this article as the case develops.
Who is Tang Yew Tan? The Malaysia-born engineer at the centre of this.
To understand why this case matters, you need to understand who Tang Yew Tan actually is.
Tang Yew Tan was born in Malaysia. He did not go to a local university.
According to his LinkedIn, he went to Imperial College London for his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering.
From there, he crossed into the world’s most competitive engineering graduate program, MIT’s Course 2 (Mechanical Engineering), where he earned his Master’s degree.
When he graduated from MIT, he interviewed at Apple.
He was a fresh graduate with no industry experience.
By his own account at an MIT Distinguished Speaker series talk in October 2025, he walked into that interview and told the hiring manager Dan Riccio: “I know I’m a fresh grad, but I can be a leader in your organisation. Give me a shot at it.” Riccio took the chance.
Tan later described himself at that same talk as “this weird-sounding Malaysian kid who had no experience.”
Early years at Apple
He described his early Apple years as a sink-or-swim situation where he was “thrown into all these projects during firefighting” and had to “learn to communicate, learn to persuade and align with people who are probably like many layers above you, many pay grades above you.”
He concluded that talk by describing his mission at OpenAI: “The challenge that we have is, how do the models intersect with the hardware?” That talk was given nine months before Apple sued him for allegedly using the tactics he learned there to extract Apple’s secrets.
What happened between Apple and OpenAI before the lawsuit
The lawsuit did not come out of nowhere.
The tension between Apple and OpenAI had been building for at least two years.
Understanding the full timeline makes the filing on July 10, 2026 feel less like a surprise and more like an inevitable endpoint to a relationship that was always going to collapse.
The full allegations. Everything Apple is claiming.
Apple’s 41-page complaint describes what it calls “a coordinated effort to steal Apple’s confidential information, including product designs, manufacturing processes and supply chain strategies.”
Here is every specific allegation in the filing, broken out clearly.
Allegations against Tang Yew Tan
Allegation 1: Emailing himself Apple supplier information before leaving
In the months before his February 2024 departure, Tan allegedly forwarded confidential Apple supplier information and internal industry summaries to his personal email account. Apple claims this information was later used to approach those same suppliers on behalf of OpenAI and io Products.
Allegation 2: “Show and tell” sessions with unreleased Apple hardware components
Apple alleges Tan directed Apple employees interviewing at OpenAI to bring “actual parts” from Apple facilities to their interviews for “show and tell” sessions. The complaint specifically names the items candidates were asked to bring: batteries, logic boards, SIPs (system-in-package chips), shields, housings, and back glass in multiple colours. At least one candidate was reportedly surprised by the request, telling a colleague he “didn’t even know we could take those from the office.” Apple’s complaint notes Tan and his OpenAI team would then use these show and tell sessions to extract additional confidential information.
Allegation 3: Using internal Apple codenames to interrogate candidates about unannounced products
During OpenAI job interviews, Tan allegedly used Apple’s confidential internal project codenames and asked candidates: “What’s the plan?” for specific unannounced Apple products. The complaint describes this as “an established pattern.” In one specific instance documented in the lawsuit, an Apple employee acquired information about a project just hours before a job interview with Tan. “Then, in the interview, Mr. Tan solicited more information about that same Apple project,” according to the complaint.
Allegation 4: Circulating Apple’s own internal security exit checklist to help new hires evade detection
Apple alleges that Tan retained or obtained an internal Apple document marked “Need to Know” that detailed Apple’s procedures for employees who are departing the company, including the “dreaded walk out” that removes employees from Apple systems. According to the complaint, OpenAI distributed “a checklist that Tang put together” to incoming hires to help them avoid Apple’s exit security procedures. Departing employees were allegedly coached not to disclose their next employer and to remain at Apple for as long as possible to retain access to Apple’s confidential information and systems before starting at OpenAI.
Allegation 5: Approaching Apple’s supply chain using misappropriated insider knowledge
Apple alleges OpenAI, using information Tan allegedly brought with him, made contact with Apple’s trusted manufacturing and supply chain partners. In one specific instance, OpenAI allegedly persuaded one of Apple’s contract manufacturers to perform Apple’s proprietary metal-finishing technique by falsely representing to the manufacturer that Apple had sanctioned the request. Apple also alleges OpenAI approached a second longtime Apple supplier that works on power and battery manufacturing, using insider Apple terminology to ask “targeted questions” about specific Apple components.
Allegations against Chang Liu
On the other hand, Chang Liu, a Chinese national, spent eight years at Apple as a senior systems electrical engineer. He left for OpenAI in January 2026. Apple’s allegations against Liu are arguably more concrete than those against Tan, because they involve specific documented digital actions after he had already left the company.
Allegation 1: Did not return his Apple-issued MacBook and skipped his exit interview
When Liu left Apple in January 2026, he allegedly failed to return a company-issued MacBook and skipped his exit interview. Apple says he departed with that laptop, a close relationship with at least one Apple employee who continued sharing internal information, and critically, knowledge of a previously unknown software authentication bug.
Allegation 2: Exploited an authentication bug to access Apple’s internal systems after leaving
Using the retained MacBook, Liu allegedly discovered a previously unknown authentication vulnerability in Apple’s systems that allowed him to continue accessing Apple’s internal cloud file storage and shared network folders even after his employment had ended. He then allegedly messaged his former Apple colleague Alyssa Peng: “LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny.” Peng allegedly responded: “I’m ready,” and then helped Liu obtain further information through her own Apple laptop. A few months later, Peng herself left Apple for OpenAI’s hardware division.
Allegation 3: Downloaded over a thousand pages of Apple’s confidential documents while already working at OpenAI
Using the unauthorised access, Liu allegedly downloaded dozens of confidential hardware-related files totalling over a thousand pages of Apple documents. According to the complaint, these included: information about unreleased Apple products, engineering presentations, technical specifications, manufacturing details for circuit boards, proprietary project data, hardware designs, and testing procedures. Many of the files were labelled as confidential inside Apple’s systems.
Allegation 4: Coached another Apple employee on how to copy files while evading Apple security
Apple alleges Liu was also recruiting at least one Apple employee to join OpenAI and coached that person on which confidential Apple materials to study before their OpenAI interview, and how to copy files in ways that would avoid detection by Apple’s security teams.
OpenAI’s Response
OpenAI issued a brief statement in response to the lawsuit: “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.”
Neither Tang Yew Tan, Chang Liu, nor Jony Ive (who is not named in the lawsuit despite co-founding io Products) publicly commented at the time of publication.
Bloomberg had previously reported that OpenAI itself had been exploring legal action against Apple over the companies’ partnership, specifically whether Apple had breached their ChatGPT integration agreement by not surfacing ChatGPT sufficiently within its products.
Whether OpenAI pursues that counter-action alongside defending this lawsuit will be one of the defining legal stories of the second half of 2026. We will update this article as the case develops.
