According to court papers released Thursday, a former Google software developer charged with stealing trade secrets from his self-driving car program has decided to admit his wrongdoings in a settlement with prosecutors.
The former Google serial entrepreneur Anthony Levandowski, who was at the center of a lawsuit between Uber and Waymo, pleaded guilty to one count of stealing trade secrets while working at Google under a plea deal with the U.S. District prosecutor.
After leaving Google's Alphabet in 2016, Levandowski began his own autonomous vehicle business which was then acquired by Uber. Waymo, meanwhile, expanded that same year as an autonomous vehicle company.
Several years later Levandowski began talking about leaving Google for another self-driving project which was ultimately renamed "Otto," the plea deal said.
He started negotiating with ridesharing giant Uber to invest in or purchase Otto while still working at Google and admits to downloading a whole set of documents a few months before his January 2016 resignation.
Although Levandowski faces a potential 24 to 30 months prison term, the outlook is much rosier than it could have been. In August, Levandowski was indicted on 33 counts of fraud by the federal grand jury and attempted robbery.
He was looking at a protracted court dispute and a jury that was not scheduled to begin until 2021. Levandowski could still face up to 10 years in prison including a $250,000 penalty under sentencing rules, but a judge would have the liberty to determine the punishment.
Waymo sued Uber Technologies Inc. in 2017, claiming the rideshare firm had acquired Levandowski's business to access Waymo's trade secrets, the New York Times stated.
In 2017, Uber dismissed Levandowski, and settled the suit in 2018 with Google. In August 2019, Waymo accused Lewandowski of stealing his workers to work for his own business and filed criminal charges against him. "I downloaded thousands of files relating to Project Chauffeur prior to my exit," Levandowski said in court papers.
Levandowski's guilty plea in today's court trial concludes a landmark case for our business and the self-driving industry and underlines the importance of Waymo's intellectual property, a spokesperson for Waymo said in an emailed statement.
Meanwhile, Alphabet Class A shares in the after-hours session traded 0.10 percent lower at $1,110.48 on Thursday. Class C shares of the company finished 0.90 percent lower during extended trading at $1,105.11.
The stock had closed 1.68 percent higher during daily trading at $1,115.30. Uber shares traded down 2.28 percent on the same day at $20.02 after-hours, and up 38.26 percent in daily session at $20.49.
