OpenAI says it's 'very concerned' that its trade secrets could help Apple's push into AI-enabled devices

OpenAI is escalating its trade-secrets fight with Apple on the heels of Apple announcing a family of smart home-focused devices.

OpenAI said it's the company's understanding that the unnamed employee later briefed "Apple's senior leadership, including Apple's vice president of operations in Asia" about the AI company's product plans.

"That presentation appears to have happened months ago—and now, armed with that information, Apple is making a new push into AI-enabled products," OpenAI's lawyers wrote in the filing.

The files, OpenAI said, contained "highly confidential engineering and manufacturing data about the device(s)" and "supplier information and project files, standards for cosmetic finishes, and reports regarding coating and sealing of hardware components."

In an August blog post, OpenAI blasted the "careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit sadly doesn't live up to that reputation." In a legal filing, OpenAI poked at Apple's perceived struggles amid the AI talent war.

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Apple also announced a host of smart home products it developed alongside LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. Apple's announcement highlighted how its AI systems could add to the devices, allowing a user to do everything from summarizing what's happening in footage captured by an outdoor camera to automatically adjusting a thermostat when they enter a room.

"OpenAI is very concerned that its trade secret and confidential information is now circulating inside Apple," the company's lawyers wrote, "where Apple engineers can shape Apple's upcoming products based on OpenAI's confidential and innovative work."