Uber Fires Back At Google Spinoff In Self-driving Car Case

Uber is scoffing at claims that its expansion into self-driving cars hinges on trade secrets stolen from a Google spin off, arguing that its ridehailing service has been working on potentially superior technology.

 

The legal defense, presented in documents filed last week in San Francisco federal court, marks Uber’s first detailed response to explosive allegations that its self-driving cars rely on crucial technology designed by Waymo. That company was created from an autonomous-vehicle project started at Google eight years ago.

Once a Google ally, Uber emerged as a rival in the self-driving car market in early 2015 when it began developing its own fleet of autonomous vehicles.

Now, Waymo is trying to thwart that effort by persuading U.S. District Judge William Alsup to block Uber’s self-car driving expansion on the grounds that it hinges on a high-tech heist. The case’s outcome could alter the race to build self driving cars that may transform transportation, reduce traffic deaths and launch a huge new industry.

LASER FOCUS

Waymo filed suit against Uber in February, claiming that a former manager, Anthony Levandowski, stole its patented ideas. After the alleged theft, Levandowski left Google early last year to found a self-driving car startup called Otto that Uber bought for $680 million last August.