A former Google executive is facing dozens of counts of theft after allegedly selling the tech giant’s self-driving technology to Uber.
Federal prosecutors charged Anthony Levandowski with 33 counts of theft and attempted theft of trade secrets on Tuesday, according to the Department of Justice. The 39-year-old engineer was one of the leading members of Google’s initiative to build a self-driving car before joining Uber.
Levandowski pleaded not guilty to the charges and, with the help of his family and friends, posted the $300,000 bail. The judge considered Levandowski a flight risk and ruled he must wear an ankle monitor.
“All of us have the right to change jobs,” U.S. Attorney David Anderson said in a statement. “None of us has the right to fill our pockets on the way out the door. Theft is not innovation.”
Levandowski worked for Google from 2009 until he resigned in January 2016. He downloaded 14,000 documents related to Google’s LiDAR project, which he was leading, before he quit the company, according to the indictment.
After leaving Google, the software engineer and several other ex-Google employees launched a self-driving trucking startup called Otto. Uber bought out Levandowski’s company for $700 million shortly after, and he began working for the ride-hailing service as part of the deal.
“The Bay Area has the best and brightest engineers, and they take big risks,” FBI special agent John Bennett said on Tuesday. “But Silicon Valley is not the Wild West. The fast-paced and competitive environment does not mean federal laws do not apply.”
