Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud
    • Innovation
    • Mobile

    Uber Fires Top Self-Driving Car Exec Over Trade Secrets Snafu

    Written by

    Chris Preimesberger
    Published May 30, 2017
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      Uber has fired its vice president of technology, Anthony Levandowski, amid a nasty legal battle with Waymo over his alleged theft of self driving-car trade secrets.

      Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, figured something was amiss in January 2016, when Levandowski secretly downloaded 14,000 pages of documents, quit his job and went out the door with them. This was according to The New York Times, which broke the story about Levandowski’s job loss May 30.

      San Francisco-based Uber notified employees of the staffing move via internal email, the Times said.

      Trade-Secret Misappropriation?

      In its February 2017 lawsuit, Waymo accused Uber of trade secret misappropriation, patent infringement and unfair competition pertaining to LIDAR, a laser-based technology designed to let self-driving vehicles “see” traffic, pedestrians and other obstacles.

      Waymo’s complaint includes the allegation that Levandowski illegally downloaded about 14,000 proprietary and confidential files pertaining to LIDAR shortly before he left Waymo to establish a self-driving truck company of his own called Otto.

      Uber, which subsequently acquired Otto and its self-driving technology for about $680 million, has denied any wrongdoing.

      Waymo is attempting to convince a federal judge to place an injunction against Uber that would require all work by Uber on self-driving cars to cease. The case is pending.

      An Uber spokeswoman confirmed the report of Levandowski’s firing May 30 to the San Francisco Chronicle and said that the robotics engineer refused to cooperate with its internal investigation of the allegations.

      Centers Around LIDAR Circuit Boards

      Waymo said in the lawsuit that the information that Levandowski misappropriated included critical LIDAR circuit boards, which Waymo had spent multiple years and hundreds of millions of dollars developing. The information has allowed Uber to take massive shortcuts and build a LIDAR capability in just nine months, the suit stated.

      Levandowski took “extraordinary efforts” to access Waymo’s design servers for the information and then took equally elaborate measures to conceal his illegitimate activity, the company alleged.

      As one might imagine, self-driving vehicles are a major greenfield business opportunity. Waymo has been estimated to be worth $70 billion, way more than Ford, GM, or Tesla. Several auto manufacturers, such as Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen, Lincoln, Audi and others are also investing in technology to move people from Point A to Point B and beyond without needing a driver to do it.

      Image courtesy of YouTube

      Chris Preimesberger
      Chris Preimesberger
      https://www.eweek.com/author/cpreimesberger/
      Chris J. Preimesberger is Editor Emeritus of eWEEK. In his 16 years and more than 5,000 articles at eWEEK, he distinguished himself in reporting and analysis of the business use of new-gen IT in a variety of sectors, including cloud computing, data center systems, storage, edge systems, security and others. In February 2017 and September 2018, Chris was named among the 250 most influential business journalists in the world (https://richtopia.com/inspirational-people/top-250-business-journalists/) by Richtopia, a UK research firm that used analytics to compile the ranking. He has won several national and regional awards for his work, including a 2011 Folio Award for a profile (https://www.eweek.com/cloud/marc-benioff-trend-seer-and-business-socialist/) of Salesforce founder/CEO Marc Benioff--the only time he has entered the competition. Previously, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. He has been a stringer for the Associated Press since 1983 and resides in Silicon Valley.
      Linkedin Twitter

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×