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.
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