Apple is expanding the scope of its legal action against former employees who moved to OpenAI. As the two companies compete over artificial intelligence (AI) technology and device development, a battle over trade secret infringement is intensifying.
The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 17th local time, citing multiple sources, that Apple sent legal warning Seohan Engineering & Construction to about 40 former employees currently working at OpenAI. The Seohan Engineering & Construction is said to demand that they preserve various communication records, including documents and emails related to their duties while employed, and meet with Apple's legal representatives.
The move came right after Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and two former employees. In the complaint, Apple said the defendants, including an executive who worked at the company for 24 years, secured internal secrets and then moved to OpenAI. It also emphasized that the evidence currently obtained accounts for only part of the broader indications of trade secret infringement.
OpenAI said it is scrutinizing the allegations but has not identified grounds to support the lawsuit. Observers said that for OpenAI, which is pursuing an initial public offering (IPO) amid market expectations, reputational damage and rising legal expense from a prolonged lawsuit could also be a burden.
The clash between the two companies surfaced as OpenAI, together with Apple's former chief design officer, is developing its own AI device. Apple previously integrated OpenAI technology into Siri in cooperation, but more recently joined hands with Google and applied Google's AI model to the conversational voice-and-text assistant feature unveiled in June. FT assessed that the dispute shows the relationship between the two companies has effectively entered a breakup phase.