Apple filed a trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI last Friday, and it’s not messing around. The complaint alleges a pattern of misconduct reaching all the way up to OpenAI’s chief hardware officer and claims more than 400 former Apple employees now work at the company. OpenAI’s response so far has been carefully hedged, and the timing couldn’t be worse with the company reportedly eyeing an IPO as early as later this year.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane dig into what the lawsuit could mean for OpenAI’s own hardware ambitions and IPO timeline, plus a bigger theme running through the week’s news: how much should anyone trust AI companies with their data?
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:40 Would you want Sam Altman listening to you?

01:53 Apple sues OpenAI over trade secrets

13:24 Satya Nadella’s warning: “you’re paying twice” with your data

19:03 Open source vs. going deeper with AI labs

24:52 General Catalyst gives David Beckham’s health drink startup $1B

30:05 Ex-OpenAI researcher raises $200M for drug discovery startup

32:58 Outro

Pitching to VCs as a deep-tech founder means crafting a precise story. Andrew Dai, co-founder and CEO of Elorian shares his tips for pitching to non-technical investors.

Listen to the full episode of Build Mode for more inside their pre-seed fundraise at a $300M valuation.

Garrett Langley founded Flock because of a basic frustration: it was too easy to get away with crime in the US. His solution — a network of license plate readers, cameras, drones and audio sensors — has changed how police departments investigate crime, while also raising urgent questions about safety, surveillance and privacy. In this talk, Langley addresses the controversy around this widely debated technology and makes the case for why it will make the world safer. (Followed by a Q&A with TED Chairman Chris Anderson and a note from TED guest curator Bilawal Sidhu) (Recorded at TED2026 on April 14, 2026)

Join us in person at a TED conference:
Become a TED Member to support our mission:
Subscribe to a TED newsletter:

Follow TED!
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:
Facebook:
X:

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

Watch more:

TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at

#TED #TEDTalks #AI #Surveillance