OpenAI has poached over 400 people from Apple, prompting Apple to offer urgent raises and promotions to retain talent.

According to Dongcha Beating monitoring, before Apple sued OpenAI, the two sides had been engaged in a talent war for several months. As the number of defectors reached the hundreds, Apple began offering raises and additional responsibilities to poached employees in an effort to retain them.

In the lawsuit, Apple stated that over 400 former employees have already joined OpenAI. The poached personnel spanned departments such as product design, displays, antennas, supply chain, and hardware procurement.

OpenAI's Hardware Director, Tang Tan, was identified as a key recruiter. He had worked at Apple for about 25 years and was responsible for iPhone hardware development. OpenAI is preparing a series of AI devices, including screenless smart speakers, glasses, recording devices, and wearable pins. Apple is concerned that its own talent and trade secrets are helping OpenAI create a new hardware rival.

The two parties have long been dissatisfied with each other. In May of this year, OpenAI considered accusing Apple of breach of contract due to ChatGPT's performance falling below expectations, but ultimately did not pursue legal action.