One - time autonomous fomite wunderkind Anthony Levandowski — the central figure in Waymo’scontentious lawsuit against Uber — has been charged with 33 counts of thieving and attempted larceny of trade secrets , the New York Times report , bestow the in high spirits - visibility corporate espionage case back into the news .
Levandowski , who is aver to have exfiltrated some 14,000 files from his former employer , Google , and downloaded them onto a personal computer , conk out on to shape a self - drive truck company called Otto which Uber purchased in 2016 . As a resultant role of the acquisition , Levandowski was put in charge of ego - driving operations at the ride - hailing hulk .
The so-called passage of trade secrets from Google — specifically its own autonomous vehicle division , Waymo — into the hands of Uber lead to last class ’s effectual face-off , which end in an anticlimacticsettlementafter just four days . Levandowski himself wasfired by Uberafter he refused to cooperate with authorities . Google umbrella organization Alphabet snagged 0.34 percent of Uber equity ( which my former coworker Kate Conger reported was worth around $ 245 million at the fourth dimension ) and agreed to drop the remain craft secret stealing claim it had swing over Uber ’s head .
Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, left, and Anthony LevandowskiPhoto: Tony Avelar (AP)
While the closure on the face of it put an end to the dramatic event between the two tech firms , Levandowski ’s ordeal was far from over . As a result of today ’s mission , which were handed down by the U.S. Attorney ’s Office of the Northern District of California , Levandowski could face up to 10 twelvemonth in prison . Each reckoning of stealing or set about thievery also carries a fine of up to $ 250,000 — meaning the former Uber White House could be ram to pay back $ 8.25 million , and additional restoration on top of that .
Asked for comment , Uber told Gizmodo , “ We ’ve cooperated with the government throughout their investigation and will go along to do so . ” In its own argument to Gizmodo , a Waymo spokesperson say , “ We have always believed competition should be fueled by creation , and we appreciate the work of the U.S. Attorney ’s Office and the FBI on this case . ”
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