Apple Sues OpenAI for Trade Secret Theft, Alleging a Parts-Smuggling, Talent-Poaching Scheme Behind OpenAI's Secret AI Device
About This Episode
Apple sued OpenAI, Jony Ive's io Products, and two former Apple employees on July 10, alleging a coordinated campaign 'at every level' to steal trade secrets for OpenAI's upcoming AI hardware. Apple says OpenAI's hardware chief Tang Tan, a former Apple VP, directed candidates to bring real Apple parts to interviews and coached staff to evade exit security.
Our Take
A trade-secret lawsuit over an unreleased AI gadget is really a fight over who owns the next computing platform once smartphones fade — and a reminder that in an age of abundant compute and capital, the one thing you can't copy is the person who knows how it's built.
Continue Reading on Unscarcity
The AI Talent Paradox: When Genius Is the Last Scarcity
The suit is really a talent war — when compute and capital are abundant, the scarce input is the people who carry the know-how, and you can't vertically integrate a person, so the secrets walk out in their heads.
Network Effects: Why Facebook Won and Why AI Monopolies Loom
The real prize is control of the post-smartphone computing interface, where the winner's platform advantage compounds — which is why Apple is fighting this hard over a device not yet shipped.