A former Google engineer spent months downloading Google’s secret files on self-driving cars before he abruptly quit the company in 2016 to run Uber's autonomous vehicle program, federal prosecutors alleged on Tuesday.U.S. Attorney David Anderson said that a forensic investigation revealed that Levandowski downloaded around 14,000 files belonging to Google on or around Dec. 11, 2015, and that he later transferred those and other files to his personal laptop and then gave them to Uber.
“The FBI will not tolerate the theft of trade secrets,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge John Bennett. “These are the crown jewels of companies. These are heavily protected, confidential information, and accessible on a need to know basis.” Waymo, Google’s autonomous vehicle spinoff, said in a statement: “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.”