SAN FRANCISCO, CA — In a new twist in the increasingly litigious landscape of AI hardware, iyO Inc., an artificial intelligence device startup that recently filed a high-profile lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and renowned industrial designer Jony Ive, is now taking legal action against one of its own former executives. The company has accused Dan Sargent, who left iyO in December 2024 and now works for Apple, of breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets, alleging he leaked confidential drawings of iyO's unreleased product.
The lawsuit, filed this week in San Francisco Superior Court, claims Sargent met with Tang Yew Tan, a co-founder of OpenAI's new hardware venture, io Products, and a close ally of Jony Ive. According to iyO, Sargent allegedly shared a confidential drawing of their proprietary "audio computer" product, an earbud-like device designed for new ways of interacting with AI.
This new legal battle unfolds amidst iyO's ongoing trademark infringement dispute with OpenAI and Jony Ive. IyO had previously sued OpenAI after it acquired "io Products" and began using the similar-sounding "io" brand for its stealth hardware collaboration with Ive. IyO CEO Jason Rugolo stated he felt "duped" after having pitched his ideas and prototypes to firms tied to Altman and Ive in 2022, only for them to later launch a similarly named, competitive venture. A U.S. District Judge recently ruled that iyO has a strong enough case to proceed with its trademark suit, temporarily ordering Altman, Ive, and OpenAI to cease using the "io" brand.
The revelation of Sargent's alleged leak came through a court declaration from Tang Yew Tan in the trademark case. Tan stated he had spoken with a "now former" iyO engineer who expressed frustration with "iyO's slow pace, unscalable product plans, and continued acceptance of preorders without a sellable product." These conversations, according to Tan, led him to conclude that iyO was offering "vaporware" – a product advertised but not yet functional as claimed. IyO claims its investigators later confirmed Sargent was the employee in question.
"This is not an action we take lightly," said iyO CEO Jason Rugolo in a statement, emphasizing that their primary goal is not to target a former employee but to hold accountable those who allegedly "preyed on him from a position of power." The lawsuit highlights the intense competition and the heightened risks of intellectual property theft in the nascent and highly secretive AI hardware space, where companies are racing to define the next generation of human-AI interaction.
The case further complicates the already messy public airing of the competition to pioneer new AI interfaces. As tech giants and nimble startups vie for dominance, disputes over trademarks, trade secrets, and employee conduct are becoming increasingly common, reflecting the high stakes involved in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence industry.
Related Articles
Leave a Reply