Apple and OpenAI are battling not only in the marketplace but also in court, escalating a fight over who builds the devices consumers use to access AI.
Apple’s July 10 lawsuit names OpenAI Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan, a 24-year Apple veteran and former head of iPhone product design, along with a more junior former Apple employee. Apple alleges Mr. Tan solicited confidential design and supplier information from Apple employees during OpenAI job interviews and instructed candidates to bring proprietary hardware to those sessions.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is developing a mobile, screen-free smart speaker meant to function as a humanlike AI companion, controlling smart-home devices and running a more advanced version of ChatGPT’s voice mode, according to Bloomberg. The company aims to unveil the device this year and release it in 2027, though the litigation could delay that timeline; Apple is seeking a preliminary injunction. OpenAI said it has “no interest in other companies’ trade secrets” and is “not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit.”
For health systems, the fight extends beyond consumer tech. OpenAI has built a fast-growing healthcare business — including ChatGPT for Healthcare, deployed at organizations including Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth and Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare — while Apple has pursued Vision Pro projects with systems like San Diego-based Sharp HealthCare as well as AI-driven health coaching. Any disruption to OpenAI’s hardware roadmap is worth watching for its enterprise health customers.
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