Thread by @modernhomesla

Former Google engineer
▪️Anthony Levandowski
being charged
w stealing closely guarded secrets
about self-driving cars.

He has been accused
of later selling those secrets
2 Uber👈📌📌📌

Uber
self-driving technology
crucial 4 its survival!

KSA
latimes.com/business/story…

🔥offshoot of a lawsuit
filed in 2017 by Waymo,
self-driving car pioneer
spun off from Google.

Uber agreed 2 pay Waymo $245M
2 settle case,
but federal judge overseeing lawsuit
made an unusual recommendation📌
2 open a criminal investigation.

Anthony Levandowski,
pioneer in robotic vehicles,
charged w 33 counts
of trade secrets theft.

Could be sentenced
up to 10 yrs
+ fined $250,000 per count.

Prosecutors say invest ongoing,📌
but they wouldn’t say
whether Uber
[KSA | SoftBank]

+ its founding CEO
▪️Travis Kalanick R targets.

After Levandowski left Google.
Uber paid $680M in 2016
2 acquire Otto,
self-driving truck startup
founded by Levandowski
+
▪️Lior Ron.

Levandowski
accused of stealing
yrs of top-secret information
from Google,
which prosecutors called
the crown jewels of the company.

Incl Google’s breakthroughs in
lidar, 👈
key piece of technology
that enables self-driving cars
2 detect what’s around them.

During 2017 Waymo trial,
Kalanick conceded
Uber needed📌
2 develop self-driving cars
2 survive.

He denied he ever resorted 2
stealing tech from Google.
Believed Google was ally
until he began 2 suspect
co intended 2 launch
own ride-hailing serv
consist entirely of robotic veh

Waymo,
Google spin-off 2016,
alleged Levandowski
downloaded 14,000 docs
containing its trade secrets
B4 he left co 2 found
▪️Otto.

latimes.com/business/story…

Uber
denied knowing anything
about those documents,
but eventually fired him
after he repeatedly asserted
his constitutional right
against self-incrimination
leading up 2 trial.
latimes.com/business/story…

🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

Whiff of potential wrongdoing
became even more pungent
following disclosure of allegations
by a former Uber security specialist,
Richard Jacobs,
"company employed espionage team
2 spy on Waymo + other rivals
while creating ways
2 conceal any stolen tech.

Google pursued
sep case against Levandowski
in arbitration proceedings,
which resulted in panel ordering
Levandowski 2 pay co. $127M,
according 2 disclosure
made by Uber
leading up 2 its IPO.
latimes.com/business/story…

Uber may be held liable
4 paying all or part of that
as part of guarantees it made
in its Otto acquisition,

but believes it may be able
2 get out of those obligations.

Dirty Nasty KSA Saudi Arabia MbSh¡t

SoftBank

latimes.com/business/story…