Apple has sent legal preservation letters to roughly 40 former Apple employees now working at OpenAI, instructing them to retain potentially relevant documents and communications, according to a Financial Times report published July 17, 2026. The letters extend Apple's trade secret lawsuit filed against OpenAI on approximately July 10, 2026, which alleges a coordinated effort to obtain confidential information about Apple hardware engineering and product development. The complaint names former Apple executives Tang Tan, now OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer and a 24-year Apple veteran, and Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer now on OpenAI's hardware team, and states that more than 400 former Apple employees work at OpenAI. Apple seeks an injunction barring use of its information in OpenAI's AI hardware device, plus damages and breach-of-contract claims. OpenAI told Bloomberg it is "not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit."