Sebastiaan de With’s move to Apple seemed like a win for the tech giant and the popular Halide camera app—until a lawsuit changed the story. Now, his former co-founder is accusing him of financial misdeeds and stealing proprietary code when he left their startup.
From Talent Hire to Legal Battle
When Apple hired Sebastiaan de With in January, the tech world saw it as another strategic move by the iPhone maker to bring top app talent in-house. De With co-created Halide, a photography app beloved for offering professional-grade controls on iPhones, which earned a devoted following among mobile photographers.
Apple’s interest in Halide ran deeper than just hiring de With—reports revealed that the company attempted to acquire Lux Optics, the startup behind Halide, the previous summer. But the deal fell through, and Apple ultimately settled for bringing de With onto their design team instead.
That arrangement looked clean on the surface. But court filings from Ben Sandofsky, de With’s co-founder at Lux Optics, tell a different story.
Allegations of Financial Misconduct and Code Theft
Sandofsky sued de With in California Superior Court in Santa Cruz, claiming the former partner didn’t leave on good terms.
According to the lawsuit, de With was actually fired in December 2025 for financial misconduct involving over $150,000 in company funds spent on personal expenses.
But the suit goes further. Sandofsky alleges that de With took important Lux corporate materials—including proprietary Halide source code—with him when he joined Apple just a month later.
If true, these claims could put Apple in a tight spot. The company might have unknowingly acquired intellectual property that was taken without permission during the hiring process. Given Apple’s strict internal policies and reputation, such a scenario raises uncomfortable questions.
Apple's Response and the Fallout
An attorney for de With denied all allegations of wrongdoing, calling them baseless and accusing Sandofsky of using Apple as leverage in the dispute. They said the tech giant had no involvement in any alleged financial issues or source code transfers.
Still, the lawsuit has thrust the small startup and its high-profile founders into the spotlight, exposing tensions behind what seemed like a straightforward talent acquisition. The timing is notable: Apple’s failed acquisition talks last summer, de With’s firing in December, and his hiring by Apple in January form a chain of events now under legal scrutiny.
Halide remains one of the most acclaimed camera apps on iOS, prized for its manual controls and clean interface. Lux Optics has built a reputation on quality and innovation, making these allegations a jarring development for the app’s fanbase.
What This Means for Apple and the App Ecosystem
Apple’s App Store thrives on innovation from small developers like Lux Optics. When talent and technology move between startups and tech giants, the lines around ownership can blur. Legal battles like this highlight the risks companies face when hiring from smaller outfits, especially if acquisition talks fail.
The broader question: how closely do companies vet intellectual property during hiring? And how do startups protect their code and ideas when founders split?
For Apple, this lawsuit could prompt internal reviews of hiring practices and intellectual property safeguards. For Lux Optics, the suit is a fight to reclaim control and hold a former partner accountable.
Meanwhile, users of Halide watch closely. Will this dispute affect future updates or the app’s development? For now, the controversy casts a shadow over a beloved app and the people behind it.
The lawsuit remains ongoing, with both sides digging in. As the case unfolds, it could expose new details about how startups and tech giants share—or fight over—valuable code and talent.
