Despite getting 18 months prison sentence, former engineer for Google and Uber Anthony Levandowski will seem to walk away as a billionaire after seeking $4.1 billion revenue from the ride-hailing company.
According to Engadget, US District Judge William Alsup sentenced Levandowski to 18 months in federal prison on Tuesday, August 4, for stealing trade secrets from Google. Judge Alsup also fined him $95,000 and ordered to pay Waymo, self-driving business of Google's parent company Alphabet, a total of $756,499.22 in compensation.
In a statement, Waymo told TechCrunch that Levandowki's conduct "erases the contributions of many" while Alsup's decision is a triumph for trade secret laws that upholds the development of advanced technology.
The statement also reads that Levandowski's theft of technology trade secrets has been massively disturbing and damaging to Waymo and its effects could have been even worse if it was not discovered.
Levandowski pleaded guilty to the charges and apologized to his "colleagues at Google for betraying their trust." He also apologized to his family who had to bear the consequences of his actions.
However, he seeks for house arrest due to his pneumonia, which would make him susceptible to COVID-19, which Judge Alsup denied. Instead, his imprisonment would be postponed until the risks of coronavirus infection in prisons are under control.
In 2017, Alphabet filed a case against Uber for conspiring with Levandowski who downloaded various Waymo proprietary and confidential designs. This mounts to over 14,000 data, including its LiDAR system, which he used in the new company he started, the Otto Trucking that Uber acquired. However, the two tech companies reached a settlement after a year with Uber asked to develop its own self-driving technology.
Levandowski may have lost in a battle, but he is set to earn more in another case
While the recent sentence concluded the court warfare between Levandowski and Google which began in February 2017, the 40-year-old engineer is now seeking for compensation from Uber for the supposed earnout plan he had with the company.
Court documents filed on July 26, Uber promised to give him "a percent interest of billions in profit for Uber's new trucking business."
The University of California, Berkeley graduate claimed to have suffered damages amounting to at least $4.128 billion. The case roots to alleged breach of Otto Trucking Agreement.
Levandowski wrote in court documents that Uber had an option to acquire Otto Trucking, but the former is obligated to support. On August 18, 2016, Uber decided to close its acquisition of Levandowski's trucking business.
However, Uber's deal with Otto was delayed by nine months, instead of the required 45 days. Uber also advised Levandowski that the transaction will not push through if he is still part of the company, neither will they give him the IP license. This forced Levandowski to "engage in protracted litigation."
Meanwhile, Uber spokesperson gave no comment on the most recent case, which was called "desperate filing." Since Uber Freight is already a separate business from Uber since August 2018 with a valuation of $4 billion, Levandowski intends to get the whole company.
