OpenAI's Jony Ive startup acquired for $6.4 billion
OpenAI acquired Jony Ive's hardware startup for $6.4 billion, which is now named in Apple's trade secret theft lawsuit.
Snapshot · Moonshots with Peter Diamandis
The AI Duopoly Is Over: Grok 4. 5 , GPT-5 . 6 , and Muse Spark in One Week | #270
Explore episode
Jul 13, 2026
Where this was said
Apple Sues OpenAI: The Post-Smartphone Hardware War
At 31:00 · chapter starts 29:10
In a story that broke just hours before recording, Apple filed a 41-page federal complaint in the US District Court of Northern California against OpenAI. The complaint alleges systematic trade secret theft 'at every level' — from technical staff to OpenAI's chief hardware officer — to build the AI hardware business spun from Jony Ive's startup, which OpenAI acquired for $6.4 billion. Two specific former Apple employees are named: Tang Tan, a 24-year Apple veteran who ran iPhone and Apple Watch design, accused of using Apple code names and aiding recruitment; and Chang Liu, accused of downloading dozens of confidential files and teaching an Apple employee to bypass security. The irony is rich: these companies were partners just 18 months ago. Salim calls it 'Apple trying to slow things down while it catches up.' Dave Blundin points out that Northern California is one of the hardest jurisdictions in which to win an IP case — virtually every startup there was founded by someone who left a prior company with intellectual property — meaning Apple must be desperate or protecting something extremely valuable. Alex Wissner-Gross notes that OpenAI is now approaching a trillion-dollar valuation, making it arguably 20-25% the size of Apple and growing far faster [1] — Peter Diamandis "Apple filed a 41-page federal complaint accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets at every level — from technical staff to chief hardware o…" 29:08 [2] — Salim Ismail "I think this is Apple trying to slow things down while it catches up." 32:55 .
Apple's lawsuit alleges OpenAI trade secret theft at all levels
Apple filed a 41-page complaint in the US District Court of Northern California, alleging OpenAI stole trade secrets from the executive level down to technical staff to build its AI hardware business.
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