Gigantic dispute: Apple brought lawyers against OpenAI over upcoming AI phone

Speculation about OpenAI preparing its own phone has been ongoing for a long time. Now, however, a much more interesting battle has erupted around it than what its specifications will be. Apple filed a lawsuit against the creator of ChatGPT, accusing it of systematically taking its technologies and people. And the most piquant detail sounds like a script for a spy movie.

Checklist for Exfiltrating Information

Poaching employees is a normal sport in Silicon Valley — but 400 people in a few months, often from teams directly developing new iPhones, is a different league. According to Bloomberg’s information, one former Apple manager allegedly compiled something like a checklist on how to bypass the manufacturer’s security measures when taking internal information, even before his departure to OpenAI.

However, let’s emphasize that these are currently allegations from the lawsuit, not proven facts. In addition to financial compensation, Apple demands that OpenAI destroy all allegedly stolen data and documents.

What this means for the upcoming phone

Bloomberg notes that the mere existence of the lawsuit and subsequent investigation could act like a spring frost: fewer Apple employees will dare to move to OpenAI, and even fewer will take internal know-how with them. In the longer term, the dispute could force the company to rework some of its products. However, it doesn’t seem to be slowing them down yet — OpenAI is expected to announce its first hardware this year, deliveries are anticipated in 2027, and former Apple chief designer Jony Ive is involved in the development.

Would you buy a phone from OpenAI, or is the whole idea doomed from the start?

Source: Bloomberg, Notebookcheck