/
Navigation
Chronicles
Browse all articles
Explore
Semantic exploration
Research
Entity momentum
Nexus
Correlations & relationships
Story Arc
Topic evolution
Drift Map
Semantic trajectory animation
Posts
Analysis & commentary
Pulse API
Tech news intelligence API
Browse
Entities
Companies, people, products, technologies
Domains
Browse by publication source
Handles
Browse by social media handle
Detection
Concept Search
Semantic similarity search
High Impact Stories
Top coverage by position
Sentiment Analysis
Positive/negative coverage
Anomaly Detection
Unusual coverage patterns
Analysis
Rivalry Report
Compare two entities head-to-head
Semantic Pivots
Narrative discontinuities
Crisis Response
Event recovery patterns
Connected
Search: /
Command: ⌘K
Embeddings: large
TEXXR

Chronicles

The story behind the story

days · browse · Enter similar · o open

Uber settles Waymo suit, pledges not to use Waymo's trade secrets; Waymo to get 0.34% stake in Uber which sources say would be worth ~$245M at $72B valuation

Under settlement, Uber also will give Waymo equity worth about $245 million  —  Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to settle a lawsuit …

Wall Street Journal Greg Bensinger

Discussion

  • @sarahjeong Laser Is The Sauce on x
    ALSUP: The case for all you newspaper people is over.
  • @mccv Mark Mcbride on x
    Extremely cynical take: this means Uber gets to hold back a ton of the stock comp that Otto employees were promised because they didn't hit metrics. So instead of getting LIDAR for $680m (the Otto price) they just paid Waymo $245m instead.
  • @bgurley Bill Gurley on x
    Super impressed by the maturity and tone being set by @dkhos in his leadership at Uber. http://www.uber.com/...
  • @sacca Chris Sacca on x
    Read this statement from @dkhos. This is what real leadership looks like. Acknowledgement, apology, commitment, optimism. http://www.uber.com/...
  • @gaberivera Gabe Rivera on x
    Uber settles Waymo driverless car lawsuit, successfully averting Twitter timelines full of excruciating journalist live tweeting http://twitter.com/...
  • @jillianiles Jillian D'Onfro on x
    Settlement! Uber agrees not to use Waymo's confidential information into their hardware and software and pay a financial settlement which includes 0.34% of Uber equity, valued at Series G-1 round at an approximate $72B valuation. https://www.cnbc.com/...
  • @amir Amir Efrati on x
    Most unsurprising thing—Uber settled with Waymo. Surprising: Uber to pay $245M worth of shares to Waymo to settle case. Judge Alsup could have reduced damages given that it would be hard to prove Uber has gained much from its use of the trade secrets.
  • @rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
    Waymo is getting .34% of Uber's equity in the settlement, which at a $72 billion valuation, is valued at about $245 million.
  • @glennf Glenn Fleishman on x
    I have to believe Uber let Travis be called to the stand to let him have to show himself and take responsibility before they agreed to the settlement.
  • @alisongriswold Alison Griswold on x
    From Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, resident grownup in the room: “To our friends at Alphabet: we are partners... while we won't agree on everything going forward, we agree that Uber's acquisition of Otto could and should have been handled differently.” http://www.uber.com/...
  • @dmccabe David McCabe on x
    Alsup keeping it dramatic until the bitter end: “This case is now ancient history.” http://www.axios.com/...
  • @rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
    Some people have asked, why did Waymo settle for so little? It's weird to say this but $245 mil vs. $1 bil to Alphabet really doesn't make much of a difference when quarterly rev is more than $30 bil. Alphabet was able to hamstring Uber, embarrass it, and preserve its lead.
  • @daiwaka Daisuke Wakabayashi on x
    One other thought - Uber was expected to call Larry Page next week as a witness. He seems to do everything possible to avoid speaking in public. I wonder if that helped bring Waymo to the table, especially since they had already made much of their case. #UberWaymo #iknowsomeshit
  • @daiwaka Daisuke Wakabayashi on x
    2) For Uber, I think it wants to move on with new management. They don't need/want this hanging over their head as they prepared for an IPO. Waymo lawyers will find more dirt and Uber will be stuck arguing sins of the past.
  • @ryanchris Ryan Freitas on x
    Gonna go out on a limb and guess Waymo blinked. They had a weak case that only looked weaker as trial progressed. http://twitter.com/...
  • @daiwaka Daisuke Wakabayashi on x
    1) A settlement makes a lot of sense for both sides - Waymo had a great story but proving its trade secrets case was always going to be tough unless jurors ignored the instructions to stick to the tech.
  • @rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
    Despite the lofty $680 million acquisition price for Otto, bear in mind that folks like Levandowski and Lior Ron only got a few thousand bucks as they never met milestones and got hit with the lawsuit. No one is going to see that $$$.
  • @ericnewcomer Eric Newcomer on x
    Stock deal is genius. Uber can portray it as a tiny percent of the company just 0.34% (less than Otto deal which Uber has barely had to pay out). But in dollar terms looks substantial for Waymo: $245M Funny money is win-win
  • @daiwaka Daisuke Wakabayashi on x
    3) From a financial standpoint, both sides are paying so much in legal fees for a payout that's probably not going to be in the 10-digits. It just wasn't worth it.
  • @ericnewcomer Eric Newcomer on x
    Another oddity of deal agreement is that Waymo gets 0.34 percent at a purported $72 billion valuation when SoftBank just bought shares at $45B. At $45B price would put the value at $153M not $245M. We won't know actual value of shares until IPO
  • @danprimack Dan Primack on x
    The settlement is obviously small but, remember, it had not yet been proven that Uber had actually used the trade secrets (i.e., created economic harm). In fact, the issue hadn't really come up yet in trial.
  • @rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
    Here is a statement from former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick on today's settlement: http://twitter.com/...
  • @rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
    This is an incredibly good point. Add a few million in legal fees for the past 11 months and Uber walks away with a slap on the wrist. http://twitter.com/...
  • @kateconger Kate Conger on x
    Basically this is a win for @dkhos — one less scandal on his plate. Google gets ~$245 million in Uber equity and gets to keep an eye on Uber's AVs; Uber gets to focus on crossing the finish line for a 2019 IPO http://gizmodo.com/...
  • @stevekovach Steve Kovach on x
    The reporter backgrounding war on who really won starts. Waymo camp: We got $245 million from Uber Uber camp: They originally wanted $500 million http://twitter.com/...
  • @rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
    As @kateconger reported, Uber then offered up about $500 mil in equity to make it go away. Waymo wanted non-use agreements on hardware and software (remember that this trial was only about hardware) http://gizmodo.com/...
  • @rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
    Multiple sources point the finger at TK's side as source for the original leak, claiming that TK leaked the $500 mil amount to make it look like his testimony was the thing that decreased the settlement amount to $245 mil.Remember that Waymo doesn't really care about the $.
  • @om @om on x
    Am I the only one who is not enamored with the new Uber CEO and openly admit that he is in it for the short term. Uber settles lawsuit with Waymo http://techcrunch.com/... via @techcrunch
  • @reckless Nilay Patel on x
    Just read this thread: Sarah noticed early this week that Waymo's case was weak, wrote about it yesterday, and the parties settled this morning. What a ride. http://twitter.com/...