Uber accused of stealing driverless car technology from Waymo
Driverless tech litigation cited as a primary cause of concern in an investor letter to ousted Uber Technologies head Travis Kalanick that led to his forced resignation
San Francisco — Ousted Uber Technologies head Travis Kalanick learned early last year that the engineer who until recently oversaw the company’s driverless car project possessed discs of information from Google, according to a court filing. Kalanick, who resigned under pressure on Monday, told Anthony Levandowski around March 2016 that Uber did not want the information and that he should not bring it to the ride-hailing company, and the engineer told management that he destroyed the discs, according to the filing. The exchange was revealed late on Wednesday in a trade secrets lawsuit Alphabet’s Waymo filed against Uber in San Francisco federal court. While driverless cars are not expected on US roads for five to 10 years, the companies are fighting for technology that will put the winner ahead of rivals including established car makers in a multibillion-dollar industry. The litigation was cited as a primary cause of concern in an investor letter to Kalanick that led to his forced re...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.