Apple Sends Warning Letters to 40 Former Employees Who Joined OpenAI Amid Trade Secret Theft Allegations
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Seung-wook – Apple, which has been accusing OpenAI, the leader in artificial intelligence (AI), of trade secret theft, has now sent warning letters threatening legal action to dozens of former employees who left Apple.
The Financial Times (FT) reported on July 17 (local time), citing multiple sources, that Apple has sent legal warning letters to about 40 former employees currently working at OpenAI.
The letters reportedly include an order to preserve all work-related documents and communication records, as well as a request for meetings with Apple's legal team.
This action comes just days after Apple filed a major lawsuit against OpenAI and two former Apple executives who moved to OpenAI.
In the lawsuit, Apple claimed that those executives, who had worked at Apple for 24 years, stole internal confidential information and joined OpenAI.
The conflict has escalated at a sensitive time when OpenAI is teaming up with Apple's former Chief Design Officer (CDO) to accelerate the development of its own AI devices.
In court documents, Apple argued that the evidence included in the lawsuit is only the "tip of the iceberg" of OpenAI's extensive trade secret violations.
OpenAI, on the other hand, rebutted by saying, "While we take the allegations seriously, we are not aware of any evidence that this lawsuit has a valid basis."
The FT noted that this lawsuit demonstrates the near-collapse of the relationship between the two representative companies of Silicon Valley.
In particular, it is expected to pose a significant legal burden on OpenAI, which is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) amid market expectations.
The two companies had previously maintained a cooperative relationship, including integrating OpenAI technology into Apple's Siri voice assistant. However, Apple later partnered with Google and applied Google's AI model to the ChatGPT-type voice and text assistant features unveiled in June.
ksw08@yna.co.kr (End)
