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The battle all of Wall Street is talking about: Apple starts a war over its most valuable secret, people 🤫
$AAPL 🍏
Apple filed a lawsuit against Tang Tan, who for about 24 years was one of the company's most senior hardware executives,
Tan served as VP of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, and was intimately familiar with Apple's supply chain, suppliers, development processes, and key employees. 🏭
In other words, if there's anyone who knows Apple's hardware engine from the inside, it's Tan. 👤
According to the lawsuit, months before leaving the company, Tan began meeting with OpenAI personnel, and simultaneously sent himself internal information regarding Apple's suppliers, while still an employee of the company and subject to confidentiality agreements... 🤫
In 2024, he left Apple and joined Jony Ive's io venture. 😩
In 2025, OpenAI acquired the venture for about $6.5 billion, despite it not yet having a commercial product, and Tan was appointed OpenAI's head of hardware and received significant stock compensation. 💵
But from Apple's perspective, the story didn't end there. 😇
According to the lawsuit, Tan leveraged his deep familiarity with the organization to specifically recruit employees from Apple's hardware teams. 🏭
The company claims he knew exactly who possessed the most critical knowledge and tried to move precisely those individuals to OpenAI. 😈
It was further alleged that during job interviews, code names of secret projects came up, candidates were asked to present information on components and examples related to their work at Apple, and employees were even instructed to review the company's internal security manual before leaving – a document that Apple claims was stolen. 😇
It is important to emphasize that these are Apple's allegations within the lawsuit only and have not yet been proven in court,
Tang Tan and the other defendants will have a full opportunity to respond to them as part of the legal process. ⏳
Apple is suing Tan personally for theft of trade secrets, breach of contract, and breach of his duties to the company, and is demanding damages, if the court determines it is justified. ⏳
Beyond the legal proceedings themselves, the case illustrates how the AI war is no longer just about chips or models,
The real battle is over the people who hold the knowledge, experience, and connections built over decades, because sometimes, the right employee is worth more than any patent. 💡