After Apple filed a lawsuit against ChatGPT-maker OpenAI over allegations that it stole confidential information related to its hardware business, the company’s president Greg Brockman has finally responded publicly.
Speaking in an interview with the popular technology journalist Joanna Stern, Brockman dismissed the allegations. He said OpenAI has no interest in using another company’s trade secrets and is focused on building its own technology.
Brockman avoided commenting directly on the legal case because it is still ongoing, but he made OpenAI’s position clear.
Responding to Apple’s claims, he said, “I would say that we have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We are plenty innovative. We are thinking about things from our own angle. And so that’s how we operate and that’s what we do.”
The Cupertino-based tech giant recently accused OpenAI of running a months-long effort to obtain confidential information from Apple employees who interviewed with the AI company. According to Apple, OpenAI’s hardware division relies on information allegedly taken from Apple.
The lawsuit is related to OpenAI’s hardware ambitions, which are being developed with former Apple design chief Jony Ive, although Ive himself has not been named in the case.
Without discussing the legal dispute further, Brockman stressed that OpenAI remains focused on its long-term vision.
“It’s active litigation, so not something that I want to talk about, but all I can say is we’re very committed to a long-term roadmap here and that we are focused on our own development and technology. That’s what we’re interested in,” he said.
Brockman also offered a glimpse into OpenAI’s future hardware plans. While he did not reveal a launch date, he said people should “expect them soon.”
According to leaks, OpenAI’s first AI product could be a compact smart speaker without a display, designed as a voice-first AI companion for the home.
During the interview, he also confirmed that OpenAI is building a family of devices and is also developing its own chips.
Brockman even asked ChatGPT what OpenAI’s first AI device might look like. The chatbot replied, “My take, something ambient and low friction, voice first but not voice only and with a clear privacy signal.”
When asked if such a device would require a screen, ChatGPT simply answered, “nope.”
Apart from hardware, Brockman also acknowledged that OpenAI’s software experience still needs improvement. Referring to the recent integration of ChatGPT and Codex, he admitted the app is “kind of a mess.”
