【】
If you thought the Waymo v. Uber trial wrapped up when the companies settled early last year ... well, nope.
An unsealed federal indictment Tuesday revealed 33 charges against engineer-turned-executive Anthony Levandowski, whose arraignment is set for this afternoon in San Jose. If convicted, Levandowski faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Levandowski was an engineer at what was then called Project Chauffeur at Google (it later became Waymo) before he started his own autonomous truck company, Otto, in 2015. That business was quickly snatched up for $680 million by Uber, which was starting to develop its own self-driving car program.
The indictment states that Levandowski took 14,000 files related to light sensors, or LiDAR, from Google, put them on his personal laptop, and brought them to Uber.
SEE ALSO:Uber fired Anthony Levandowski. Now he's back with a self-driving truck startup.The indictment is already affecting the self-driving industry. Last year, Levandowski launched a new driver assistance company called Pronto focused on truck drivers. When the charges were unsealed Tuesday, the company announced that Levandowski was no longer the CEO and Pronto's chief safety officer would take on the role.
"The criminal charges filed against Anthony relate exclusively to [LiDAR] and do not in any way involve Pronto’s ground-breaking technology," the statement read. "Of course, we are fully supportive of Anthony and his family during this period."
When Pronto first launched, Levandowski wrote a blog post that included the line, "Yes, I'm back."
Waymo's response to the indictment over its stolen materials was measured, calling Levandowski a "former Project Chauffeur employee." A spokesperson said in an email, "We have always believed competition should be fueled by innovation, and we appreciate the work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI on this case.”
Uber fired Levandowski in 2017. In response to the charges, a spokesperson said, "We’ve cooperated with the government throughout their investigation and will continue to do so.”
Back in February 2018, after four days of testimony (we heard nothing from Levandowski, who invoked the Fifth Amendment), Waymo and Uber settled, with Uber agreeing to give Google parent company Alphabet .34 percent equity, worth $245 million.
UPDATE: Aug. 27, 2019, 4:40 p.m. PDT A statement from Uber was added above.
Featured Video For You
Waymo to expand driverless car company outside the U.S.
TopicsSelf-Driving CarsUber
相关文章
Airbnb activates disaster response site for Louisiana flooding
Airbnb has activated its disaster response page following the record-breaking flooding in Louisiana.2024-11-21The 'Gilmore Girls' revival is here, and so are the dramatic responses from fans
Netflix's Gilmore Girls revival has barely been out in the world for a day, but fans are already in2024-11-21'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' tickets are on sale Monday, November 28
This is even better than a Tosche Station sale on power converters: Tickets for Rogue One: A Star Wa2024-11-21- This looks like one successful supermarket outing -- pun-wise, at least.Fresh from their glory at th2024-11-21
Here's what 'Game of Thrones' actors get up to between takes
Warning: Contains some mild Season 6 spoilers right at the end (the video is spoiler-free). 。LONDON -2024-11-2125 gifts for people who love naps
This holiday season, help your stressed out friends up their nap game.SEE ALSO:Nintendo is going to2024-11-21
最新评论