Apple has bolstered its trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, submitting new evidence it says shows a former Apple engineer accessed and used confidential company files while working on OpenAI's hardware efforts. The filing, made in support of Apple's push for expedited discovery, focuses on ex-senior systems electrical engineer Chang Liu and forensic findings from a laptop he used after leaving Apple. The dispute matters because it raises fresh questions about how AI firms are sourcing hardware expertise and whether departing staff are carrying proprietary knowledge with them.

According to Apple, forensic analysis of the laptop shows Liu downloaded "dozens of confidential Apple files" from the company's third-party cloud storage, including a circuit schematic he allegedly used to run simulations for OpenAI, plus tools bearing names identical to Apple's internal engineering software. Apple also alleges that once Liu learned he was under internal investigation, he asked an OpenAI colleague to "restore" Apple-issued devices in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence. The claims build on a lawsuit filed earlier this year, which Apple expanded in August to cover 11 former employees accused of sharing trade secrets with OpenAI; OpenAI has denied wrongdoing, calling Apple's allegations "careless, aggressive and oddly personal."