5 ms·

Interesting how Tang Yew Tan worked at Apple for 25 years (!!) and then threw it all out for this.

The_Blade 2mo ago
who knows, maybe he had giant gambling debts or other addiction(s) or bad real estate investments and/or lost half of it all to an ex-wife first. things that Jony might be readily aware of. assuming there is more than a kernel of truth to this - and i can't imagine not, the OpenAI comms guy who responded already scrubbed his X account - it doesn't surprise me that Tan was a criminal, it's that he was such a bad criminal
- andersonpico 2mo ago
  > the OpenAI comms guy who responded already scrubbed his X account who responded to what?
  - hug 2mo ago
    https://x.com/drewpusateri/status/2075708238650089981 https://x.com/drewpusateri/status/2075708238650089981 and https://x.com/drewpusateri https://x.com/drewpusateri
- telotortium 2mo ago
  What did he scrub? Looks like an account with posts to me
- romanovcode 2mo ago
  Isn't scrubbing any of the data on a public platform that everyone sees AFTER you are being sued is not the smartest decision?
  - saalweachter 2mo ago
    Eh, not a lawyer, but my experience with internet PR problems is that the Internet is pretty lazy with a short attention span. Take something down and most of the Internet is too lazy to dig up an archive and they wander off to find something else to score internet points off of.
afavour 2mo ago
And how many years of being passed over for promotions, I wonder. Not that it justifies what he did for a moment but you can absolutely work somewhere for a long time and end up resenting it by the time you leave.
- appplication 2mo ago
  Being spurned is one possible motivation, but so is an outstanding offer, where you go from middle of the pack performer with career stagnation to superstar leading the hot new product.
- khuey 2mo ago
  > And how many years of being passed over for promotions, I wonder. He was Vice President of Product Design when he left Apple. How many more promotions could there be?
  - fiatpandas 2mo ago
    Approximately three.
jonReadingNews 2mo ago
not even the first time https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iyo-sues-former-engineer-after-io-founder-tang-yew-tan-admits-to-receiving-trade-secrets-from-him-302504068.html https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iyo-sues-former-eng... Edit: this was a year ago
- thraway3837 2mo ago
  Wow. Was just going to comment about how Tan threw away his professional credibility. This stuff will be the first result that comes up in a search or LLM. He’s made terrible decisions since leaving Apple. I wonder if MIT/folks will now investigate his entire academic career as well. What a way to throw away 25 years of hard work. Started off as a designer and worked his way up to VP. I’m sure we’ll hear from anonymous Apple employees about the nature of this person. Maybe he was pleasant to work with?
dtf 2mo ago
“Don’t over plan your life. Be open to the wonders and opportunities that present themselves,” Tan said. [sharing reflections on his journey from MIT graduate to Apple executive to OpenAI Chief Hardware Officer as part of the Distinguished Speaker series hosted by the School of Engineering] [https://thetech.com/2025/10/30/tang-tan-openai https://thetech.com/2025/10/30/tang-tan-openai]
baxtr 2mo ago
Reminds me of the (infamous) eBay sellers back in the days who collected perfect ratings for a couple of years just to suddenly turn into scammers, pulling off what was known as a "long con" or "exit scam."
- AbstractH24 2mo ago
  Which reminds me of most reddit right now
driverdan 2mo ago
Where do you think he learned it? While working at Apple from them doing the same type of thing.
m3kw9 2mo ago
I would think programmers would at least verify a bug before announcing a bug. Lets hear both sides of the story before judging.

who knows, maybe he had giant gambling debts or other addiction(s) or bad real estate investments and/or lost half of it all to an ex-wife first. things that Jony might be readily aware of. assuming there is more than a kernel of truth to this - and i can't imagine not, the OpenAI comms guy who responded already scrubbed his X account - it doesn't surprise me that Tan was a criminal, it's that he was such a bad criminal

andersonpico 2mo ago
> the OpenAI comms guy who responded already scrubbed his X account who responded to what?
- hug 2mo ago
  https://x.com/drewpusateri/status/2075708238650089981 https://x.com/drewpusateri/status/2075708238650089981 and https://x.com/drewpusateri https://x.com/drewpusateri
telotortium 2mo ago
What did he scrub? Looks like an account with posts to me
romanovcode 2mo ago
Isn't scrubbing any of the data on a public platform that everyone sees AFTER you are being sued is not the smartest decision?
- saalweachter 2mo ago
  Eh, not a lawyer, but my experience with internet PR problems is that the Internet is pretty lazy with a short attention span. Take something down and most of the Internet is too lazy to dig up an archive and they wander off to find something else to score internet points off of.

afavour 2mo ago

And how many years of being passed over for promotions, I wonder. Not that it justifies what he did for a moment but you can absolutely work somewhere for a long time and end up resenting it by the time you leave.

appplication 2mo ago
Being spurned is one possible motivation, but so is an outstanding offer, where you go from middle of the pack performer with career stagnation to superstar leading the hot new product.
khuey 2mo ago
> And how many years of being passed over for promotions, I wonder. He was Vice President of Product Design when he left Apple. How many more promotions could there be?
- fiatpandas 2mo ago
  Approximately three.

jonReadingNews 2mo ago

not even the first time https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iyo-sues-former-engineer-after-io-founder-tang-yew-tan-admits-to-receiving-trade-secrets-from-him-302504068.html https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iyo-sues-former-eng... Edit: this was a year ago

thraway3837 2mo ago
Wow. Was just going to comment about how Tan threw away his professional credibility. This stuff will be the first result that comes up in a search or LLM. He’s made terrible decisions since leaving Apple. I wonder if MIT/folks will now investigate his entire academic career as well. What a way to throw away 25 years of hard work. Started off as a designer and worked his way up to VP. I’m sure we’ll hear from anonymous Apple employees about the nature of this person. Maybe he was pleasant to work with?

dtf 2mo ago

“Don’t over plan your life. Be open to the wonders and opportunities that present themselves,” Tan said. [sharing reflections on his journey from MIT graduate to Apple executive to OpenAI Chief Hardware Officer as part of the Distinguished Speaker series hosted by the School of Engineering] [https://thetech.com/2025/10/30/tang-tan-openai https://thetech.com/2025/10/30/tang-tan-openai]

baxtr 2mo ago

Reminds me of the (infamous) eBay sellers back in the days who collected perfect ratings for a couple of years just to suddenly turn into scammers, pulling off what was known as a "long con" or "exit scam."

AbstractH24 2mo ago
Which reminds me of most reddit right now

driverdan 2mo ago

Where do you think he learned it? While working at Apple from them doing the same type of thing.

m3kw9 2mo ago

I would think programmers would at least verify a bug before announcing a bug. Lets hear both sides of the story before judging.