OpenAI Accuses Former Employee of IP Theft; Saudi National Arrested for Bugging Office

OpenAI is accusing a former employee of stealing intellectual property related to an unreleased device and later sharing some information with Apple.

OpenAI alleges the employee worked at Apple, then OpenAI for six months, before rejoining Apple. The company claims the employee downloaded over 100 highly confidential files to personal accounts before rejoining Apple, including detailed images of the unreleased device(s), as well as highly confidential engineering and manufacturing data about the device(s). OpenAI further claims the former employee made a presentation about OpenAI’s product plans to Apple’s senior leadership, including Apple’s vice president of operations in Asia months ago.

Apple stated it found no evidence to support the allegations and has strict policies to prevent new employees from using confidential information from previous workplaces. Apple also said it would work with OpenAI to remediate any of OpenAI’s information found on Apple’s systems. Apple accused OpenAI of trying to create a distraction from an ongoing lawsuit Apple brought against OpenAI in July, alleging the AI company stole the iPhone maker’s trade secrets.

OpenAI denied these claims and sought to dismiss the case. Both companies are racing to create AI-enabled devices. OpenAI terminated Alfozan's employment and stated it had no indications of him inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) subpoenaed OpenAI and Anthropic over consumer harms.