Uber and Waymo are finally taking their driverless lawsuit to trial

The companies go in front of a jury today over a fight about autonomous-car technology that kicked off this time last year.

Waymo’s side: Alphabet’s autonomous-car division says Uber stole secrets from it when it hired its top engineer, Anthony Levandowski, via the acquisition of Otto.

And Uber’s: The ride-hailer says it didn’t improperly benefit from recruiting Levandowski. In fact, it’s since fired the Travis Kalanick-bromancing engineer for failing to comply with subpoenas.

What now: The firms’ lawyers meet this morning in a San Francisco federal court. If Waymo proves Uber stole its secrets, the ride-hailer may have to pony up billions of dollars.

Why it matters: Waymo and Uber are two of the biggest players in the race to build autonomous cars. If Uber loses, it could fall back in the pack.