Anthony Levandowski

Anthony Levandowski
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Name	Anthony Levandowski
Birth date	March 15, 1980
Birth place	Brussels, Belgium
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley
Occupation	Entrepreneur, Engineer
Known for	Autonomous car technology, Waymo v. Uber legal case

Anthony Levandowski is a Belgian-born American engineer and entrepreneur who was a pioneering figure in the development of autonomous vehicle technology. His career, marked by significant technical contributions and major legal controversies, became central to high-stakes litigation between industry giants. He was a key employee at Google's self-driving car project, later co-founding the trucking startup Otto, which was acquired by Uber.

Early life and education

Born in Brussels, he moved to the United States as a child. He displayed an early interest in robotics, competing in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics design contest. For his higher education, he attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science from the UC Berkeley College of Engineering. His graduate work focused on autonomous robotics, and he gained early notoriety for creating a self-navigating motorcycle named Ghostrider for the DARPA Grand Challenge.

Career at Google and Otto

He joined Google in 2007, quickly becoming a leading engineer on the company's secretive self-driving car project, later spun out as Waymo. He was instrumental in developing the LiDAR sensing systems crucial for the technology. In early 2016, he left Google and co-founded Otto, a startup focused on self-driving trucks. Just months later, Otto was acquired by the ride-hailing company Uber in a deal worth nearly $680 million, and he began leading Uber's autonomous vehicle efforts in Pittsburgh.

Legal issues and controversies

His departure from Google and the subsequent sale of Otto to Uber triggered intense legal scrutiny. Waymo, Google's successor company, alleged he had downloaded over 14,000 confidential files before leaving, including sensitive intellectual property related to LiDAR circuit board designs. This led to a federal criminal investigation by the United States Department of Justice. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of trade secret theft as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.

Waymo v. Uber trial

The civil lawsuit, Waymo v. Uber, became one of the most watched trade secret cases in Silicon Valley history. Waymo sued Uber in 2017, alleging the ride-sharing giant benefited from the stolen files. The trial, presided over by Judge William Alsup in federal court, featured dramatic testimony and ended abruptly in a settlement just as the jury began deliberations. As part of the settlement, Uber agreed to give Waymo a financial stake and vowed not to use the disputed technology.

Pardon and later ventures

In January 2021, during his final days in office, President Donald Trump granted him a full and unconditional pardon. Following his pardon, he returned to the technology sector. He founded a new company focused on artificial intelligence and automation for the construction industry, named Kache.ai. His later work aims to apply advanced robotics and machine learning principles to industrial and logistical challenges outside the automotive sector.

Category:American engineers Category:Autonomous car engineers Category:1980 births