Halide Co-Founder Sued for Allegedly Taking Source Code to Apple

Quick Facts

• Lux Optics co-founder Ben Sandofsky sued former partner Sebastiaan de With for allegedly taking Halide source code to Apple
• De With is accused of misusing more than $150,000 in corporate funds for personal expenses before joining Apple’s design team
• The lawsuit comes after Apple’s failed acquisition attempt of Lux Optics in summer 2025

Ben Sandofsky filed a lawsuit against his former business partner Sebastiaan de With in California Superior Court of Santa Cruz on March 21. The suit alleges de With took confidential source code from their camera app company Lux Optics when he joined Apple’s design team in January.

Sandofsky claims de With improperly used more than $150,000 in Lux corporate funds to cover personal expenses. He fired de With in December 2025 after placing him on leave in October over the alleged spending.

Lux Optics makes Halide, a popular third-party iOS camera app that offers manual controls professional photographers use. The company also develops Spectre for long exposure shots, Kino for video, and Orion for turning iPads into external monitors.

Apple held acquisition talks with Lux Optics in summer 2025 but discussions ended in September when the co-founders believed they could increase company value with more Halide updates. Apple employees reportedly told the startup that its intellectual property was a major consideration in evaluating the acquisition.

De With’s legal team denies the allegations. They say the lawsuit is “meritless” and that de With did not “use, transfer, or disclose any Lux intellectual property” at Apple. The lawyers claim the suit is retaliation after de With raised concerns about financial irregularities at Lux and requested access to company financial records.

Apple is not named as a defendant and faces no accusations of wrongdoing. The company reportedly wanted to acquire Lux to improve the built-in Camera app ahead of the iPhone 18 Pro launch.

The case highlights tensions between platform owners and independent developers. Small studios often view Apple as both their primary platform and biggest competitive threat. If Apple can hire key personnel who bring proprietary code, it changes the risk calculation for indie developers building sophisticated iOS apps.

Halide continues operating under Sandofsky’s leadership. The app has been popular among serious iPhone photographers since launch, offering manual controls like exposure compensation, focus peaking, and RAW capture that Apple’s Camera app traditionally avoids.

Read more: Halide co-founder is suing former partner for bringing source code to Apple