OpenAI vs Apple text messages reveal something about Apple, but probably not what you’re thinking

OpenAI brings the receipts

Opinion By Lance Ulanoff Published 4 August 2026

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We have officially reached the finger-pointing phase of the blockbuster Apple vs. OpenAI lawsuit in which Apple alleges that, with the assistance of former Apple employees, OpenAI is stealing Apple trade secrets.

What the suit alleges, which I outlined here, is pretty damning: A pair of former Apple employees — one a 25-year company veteran and another who spent a decade as an iPhone electrical engineer — allegedly held onto systems, asked OpenAI interviewees from Apple to share proprietary Apple info, and, Apple claims, told partners that sharing Apple's proprietary manufacturing information was okay with the Cupertino tech giant.

OpenAI quickly denied the allegations and, in short order, we learned that Apple's claims that it had contacted Lui Chang about the charges were incorrect because Apple's counsel had mixed up the names of Lui Chang with OpenAI's own counsel, Che Chang.

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This week, however, OpenAI offered a more robust response, releasing a text chain between Lui Chang and a current unidentified Apple employee, and the email exchange in which it's revealed that Apple had been talking to the wrong Chang.

"Apple is one of the greatest companies of all time, and built a reputation for obsessing over the smallest details. This careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit sadly doesn’t live up to that reputation," wrote OpenAI on its company blog on Monday.

A cry for help

What the messages appear to reveal is not corporate espionage, but something far more mundane and, in some ways, very relatable if you've ever worked at a large company.

I should preface this to say that Apple has not confirmed these messages, but it's hard to imagine OpenAI fabricating them. In fact, the sheer amount of redacted information gives more credence to their authenticity.

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