i EEE HEN D'Eldriacd SEALHD BY Gry MER ffiF ffi##ffiT DAVID L. ANDERSON (CABN 149604) United States Attorney AUE 1 5 ZOlg -,-?'fffi 'f6;n'l,ii$g.'oti,B'**,o 2 J 4 5 6 7 8 LTNITED STATES DISTRICT COIJRT 9 NORTIIERN DISTzuCT OF CALIFORNIA SAN JOSE DIVISION 10 11 UNITED STATES OF AMEzuCA, t2 13 T4 15 Plaintiff, v ANTHONY SCOTT LEVANDOWSKI, Defendant. t6 17 18 t9 The Grand Jury k ffi ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) €ffi cas$Nffi ##ffi??-=r+$u VIOLATIONS: Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1832(a)(1), (2), (3) e g) - Theft and Attempted Theft of Trade Secrets; Title 18, United StatesCode, Sections 1843 and 2323 - Criminal Forfeiture. San Jose Venue Y Intro ductory Alle gations 20 2L charges: fr 1. In or about 2009, Google Inc. ("Google") began a self-driving car project knoWn within 22 the company as Project Chauffeur. Google employees working on Project Chauffeur designed and z) developed both the hardware and software necessary for 24 vehicles, and many of their component parts, were intended for use in interstate cornmerce. At all times 25 relevant to this Indictment, Google owned all of the Project Chauffeur intellectual properfy, including 26 but not limited to, the trade secrets at issub. Google was headquartered, and Project Chauffeur 27 maintained offi ces in, Mountain- View, California. 28 2. INDICTMENT fully autonomous vehicles. Self-driving In Decemb er 2016, after the events outlined in this Indictment, Project Chauffeur became 1 1 Waymo, a stand-alone company with over 600 empioyees. Waymo operated alongside Google and 2 other technology companies under the umbrella of AJphabet Inc. 3. a J Uber Technologies, Inc. ("Llber") began ds a ridesharing app in or about 2009. By 2015, 4 llber had expanded its business to include food delivery and other logistics. That 5 began investing in autonomous vehicle technologies. 6 headquartered in San Francisco, California. 4. 7 same year, I-Iber At all times relevant to this lndictrnent, Lfber w4s Anthony LEVANDOWSKI joined Google as an engineer in or about Apnl2007. He was 8 one of the founding members of Project Chauffeur. ln or about 2007,2009, and2012, 9 LEVANDOWSKI signed employment agreements with Google. Each emplolnnent agreement 10 contained, among other provisions, a Confidential Inforrnation paragraph, which obligated 11 LEVANDO'WSKI to holtl Google's Confidential Information, including trade secrets, in confidence. 12 On or about January 27,2076, LEVANDOWSKI resigned from Google without notice. At the time i3 his deparhre, LEVANDOWSKI was in charge of the Light Detection and Ranging Q,iDAR) t4 engineering team within Project Chauffeur. 5. 15 Without disclosing it to Google, in or about the spring of 2012, LEVANDOWSKI t6 participated in the formation of a LiDAR company later incorporated l7 Wave"). Odin Wave 18 as Odin Wave LLC ("Odin had a handful of employees and offices in Berkeley, California. The company worked to develop a high-accuracy mapping LiDAR sensor. In or about late 2013, Odin Wave began t9 doing business as Tyto LiDAR LLC ("Tyto") and moved to offices in San Leandro, Califomia. 20 Paperwork formalizing the name change was filed in or about February 2074. By 2015, Tyto was 2l attempting to market its LiDAR technology to self-driving companies, including llber. 22 of 6. No later than in or about September 2OI5,LEVANDOWSKI decided to leave Google LEVANDOWSKI'snew company was initially called 280 23 and form anew self-driving company. 24 Systems, Inc. but later changed its name to Ottomotto Inc. ("Ottomotto"). In or about fa11.2015, 25 LEVANDOWSKI began having ciiscussions with executives at Uber regarding Uber potentially making 26 an investunent in or acquiring Ottomotto. Those negotiations intensified in December 2015 and January 27 2}!6,with uber and ottomotto signing a term 28 7. INDICTMENT On or about sheet in February 2016. April 17,2076,1fber's Board of Directors 2 approved the Uber/Ottomotto I transaction. Shortly thereafter, Ottomotto acquired Tyto. Uber's acquisition of Ottomotto closed in 2 August 2016. (By the time of the acquisition, Ottomotto had been re-incorporated as Ottomotto LLC a and Otto Trucking LLC.) J 4 8. 5 The technology and information at issue involved the research, development, and 6 production of LiDAR technology for self-driving vehicles. A LiDAR sensor is typically mounted on the 7 exterior of a self-driving vehicle. It works by sending out an array of high-power, pulsing lasers into the 8 surrounding environment. The laser beams bounce offsurrounding objects and retum to the sensor, 9 which measures the qualities of the retum signals to detemrine the size, shape, and distance of 10 surrounding objects. Self-driving companies have used LiDAR for critical functions, including but not 11 timited to, mapping and perception. For mapping, LiDAR can be used to create 12 map of the static environment in which the vehicle will operate. Regarding perception, LiDAR l3 dynamicaify d,elgctq yhat is happening around a vehicle as it travels through the previously mapped a t}ree-dimensional ' 1.4 environment. In real time, it provides information to the vehicle about other vehicles, pedestrians, and 15 obstacles on the road. 16 ' 9 . . Through years of research and testing, and millions of dollars in investunent, Proj ect t7 Chauffeur developed its own customized LiDAR systems. Those custom systems were used for both 18 mapping and perception and consisted of thousands of individual hardware and software components. 19 The success of the LiDAR effort was critical to the overall success of Project Chauffeur. Moreover, 20 having custom LiDAR, as opposed to commercially available LiDAR, was a key differentiator between 2l Project Chauffeur and its competitors in the 2015 and 2016 timeframe. 22 10. The'Google employees working on Project Chauffeur used secure, password-protected 23 repositories to store their files, with access available to employees in the course of their job 24 responsibilities, as authenticated by valid user credentials. Project Chauffeur's repositories included the 25 26 following: a. SVN: Project Chauffeur ) engineers used computer-assisted design (CAD) software to LiDAR. CAD files, including circuit board drawings 27 design hardware, including custom 28 schematics, were housed on a subversion, or SVN, server hosted on Google's INDICTMENT J and network' To '1 access SVN, Project Chauffeur employees had to email the SVN adminishator to request a usemame and password. 2 J- b. Google Drive: The Project Chauffeur team used Google's corporate drive as a repository 4 for non-CAD files, such 5 access this Drive, after authentication of their credentials on the Google network. 6 1 1. as presentations and spreadsheets. Only Google employees could In the months before his departure from Google, LEVANDOWSKI downloaded 7 thousands of Project Chauf[eur files. On or about December 71,2015, he downloaded approximately 8 14,000 files from 9 on Project Chauffleur self-driving vehicles, including schematics for the printed circuit boards used SVN. These files contained critical engineering inforrnation about the hardware used in 10 various custom LiDAR products. On or about December 14,2075, LEVANDOWSKI transferred the 11 SVN files from his Google laptop to his personal laptop. Additionally, between in or about October t2 2015 and January 2016, LEVANDOWSKI downloaded, directly to his personal laptop, at least 20 files 13 from-thq Googte Drive, inqlqdinginstruqtio-ns for calibrating and tt4Ulrg Gg-qgielq gu,-s!om LiDAR +rt4 an t4 internal tracking document setting forth, among other things, techaical goals for each team within 15 Project Chauffeur. t6 t7 COUNTS ONE THROUGH THIRTY-THREE: (18 U.S.C. $$ 1832(a)(r), (2), Q) e. @) Attempted Theft of Trade Secrets) - Theft and i8 12. t9 20 2l 22 fuliy The aliegations contained in Paragraphs 1 through 11 are realleged and incorporated as if set forth herein 13. On or about the dates set forth in the separate counts below, in the Northern District of California and elsewhere, the defendant, 23 ANTHONY SCOTT LEVANDOWSKI, 24 intending to convert a trade secret that was related to a product and service used in and intended for use 25 in interstate and foreign corlmerce to the economic benefit of anyone other than the owner of that trade 26 secret, and knowing and intending that the offense would injure the owner of that trilde secret, as 27 specifically alleged in each of Counts One through Thirry-three below: 28 a. INDICTMENT knowingly stole, and without authorization appropriated, took, carried away, concealed, 4 1 and by fraud, artifice, and deception obtained trade secrets belonging to Google, and attempted 2 to do so; b. J ,4 knowingly and without authorization copied, duplicated, sketched, drew, downloaded, uploaded, altered, photocopied, replicated, transmitted, delivered, sent, communicated, and conveyed trade secrets belonging to Google and attempted to do so; and 5 c. knowingly 6 and without authorization received, bought, and possessed trade secrets 7 belonging to Google, and attempted to do so, knowing the same to have been stolen and 8 appropriated, obtained, and converted without authorization 9 Count One Date File Name proj ects/Laser/GBr/gbr-lasermodule/3 - 1 -0lgbr-laser-moduleA-3 0/laserA.PcbDoc proj ectsllas erlGBr/gbr-l as er- lz-tt-75 10 11 Two tz-tt-t5 13 , Three t2-7t.ts Four 12-ll-15 Five L2-t7-t5 Six 12-11-75 Seven l2-ll-t5 Eight t2-lt-t5 I4 15 16 t7 18 t9 20 2T 22 23 Nine t2-71-t5 24 25 Ten t2-tt-75 Eleven 12-tt-75 26 27 . 28 INDICTMENT 1 - - 1 -Olgbr-iaser-moduleB-3 - 1 0/laserB.PcbDoc proj ects/Laser/GBr/gbr.lasermodule/3 - 1 -Olgbr-laser-moduleC-3 - 1 0/laserC.PcbDoc proj ectsllaser/GBr/gbr-l asermodule/3 - 1 -0lgbrJaser-moduleD-3 - 1 0/laserD.PcbDoc proj ects/Las erlGBr/gbr-lasermodule/3 - 1 -0lgbr-laser-moduleE-3 - 1 0/laserE.PcbDoc proj octsllaser/GBr/gbr-1as ermodule/3 - 1 -0lgbr-laser-moduleF-3 - 1 OilsrBrdF.PcbDoc proj ectsilas erlGBr/ gbrmotherbo ardlgbr-motherboard_3 -00/receiver.SchDoc proj ectsilaser/GBr/gbrmotherbo ard/gbr-motherboard_3 -00/DAC rcw.SchDoc proj ects/Laser/GBri gbrmotherbo ardlgbr-motherb o ard_3 -0 0/flop.SchDoc proj ects/Laser/GBr/gbr-motor/gbrmotor 2-5 -0 I gbr-motor.PcbDoc proj ectsllas erlPBr/pbr-motorpcb/pbr-motor-pcb_ l, - 1 -4lpbr-motor. PcbDoc module/3 t2 - 5 : Description Transmit Block Configuration Source S\TN Transmit Block Configuration S'TN Transmit Block Configuration Sl\rN Transmit Block Configuration SVN Transmit Block Configuration S\TN Transmit Block Configuration S\TN Receiver Schematic and Structure S\TN Receiver DAC SVN Circuit Receiver Flip-flop S\TN Circuit Motor Design S'\rN Motor Design s\n{ 1 Twelve t2-17-7s 2 5 4 Thirteen 12-tt-ts Fourteen 12-11-ts Fifteen 72-lt-15 5 6 7 Sixteen t}-tt-t5 8 9 Seventeen tz-tt-ts Eighteen 72-t7-15 10 11 l2 Nineteen l2-tl-ls Twenty 12-tt-15 13 t4 15 t6 Twenty- l7 one 18 l2-tt-15 proj ects/Laser/PBr/pbr-fl ex-clo ck/pbrfl ex-clo ck_ - 4 - I I pbr -flex-clo ck. PcbDoc proj ects/Laser/PBr/pbr-receiver/pbrreceiver 1-4-llapd.SchDoc proj ects/Laser/PBr/pbrmotherboard/pbr-motherboard- 1 - 1 40/receiver.SchDoc proj e cts/L as erlPBr/pbrmotherboard/pbr-motherboard- 1 - 1 40/DAC rcvr.SchDoc proj ects/Laser/PBr/pbrmotherbo ard/pbr-motherboard- 1 - 1 40/flop.SchDoc proj ects/Laser/PBr/pbrmotherboard/pbr-motherboard- 1 - 1 4O/APD BIAS.SchDoc proj ectsilaserlKBrlkbr- motherboardlkbr-motherboard- 1 -5 0/pulse shaper.SchDoc proj ects/Las erlTBr/tbrmotherboard/tbr-motherb oard, 4-20/receiver.SchDoc proj ects/Laser/TBr/tbrmotlrerboard/tbr-motherboafi 4-2O/DAC rcw.SchDoc ectsllaser/TBr/tbr 12-11-15 Twenty- 72-lt-t5 of S\rN APD Circuit Design s\n\i Receiver Schematic and Structure SVN Receiver DAC S\TN Circuit Receiver Flip-flop Circuit s\{ APD Circuit Design S\TN Pulse Control Circuit S\IN Receiver Schematic and Structure S\TN Receiver DAC SVN Circuit Flip-flop Circuit S\AI 0/flop.SchDoc proj ects/Laser/YBr/ybr-pulser/ybr- Laser Pulse Driver S\rI\I pulser_1 Design proj motherbo arditbr-motherb Twentytwo Use and Structure a Flex PCB - 1 -Oldriver. o afi_4 -2 - SchDoc 19 20 ZI 22 23 24 25 three Receiver Module Design SVN rx module.SchDoc Twentyfour 72-11-75 Twentyfive 12-t7-15 Twenty- 72-1t-t5 s1x 26 Twenty27 erlYBr/ybr-rxmodule/ybr-rx-module_1 -0-0/ybr- proj ectsilas seven 28 INDICTMENT i1-19-15 Laser Pulse Driver Design motherboard/bbr-motherboard 1 -0O/driver.SchDoc proj ects/Laser/CBr/laser_mo duleJest/ Laser Pulser Circuit Schematic laser_module_test_ 1 -02Bllaser.SchDoc Simulation Models proj ects/Laser/CBr/laser Laser Pulser for _moduleJest/spice Circuit sim/laser module 1-0-1.asc Presentation re Google Fiber Laser for Lidar Project Chauffeur's Unique Fiber Laser Design proj ects/Laser/B Br/bbr 6 S'\rN S\TN SVN Google Drive 1 Twentyeight t2-18-15 Therrnal Rotary Coupling 2 a J Twentynine 01-04-16 Thirty 01-04-16 Pbr' Extrinsic Calibration 7 8 Thirfy- 01-04-16 Tx and Rx tuning Instructions one 10 i1 t2 la IJ Thirrytwo 01-04-16 Thirty- 01-1 1-16 TBR TESTING STATION 14 15 t6 LiDAR Engineering Drive Instructions for how to calibrate longrange LiDAR intrinsic properties once it is installed on vehicle Instructions for how to calibrate iongrange LiDAR to function properly with mid-range LiDAR on vehicle Instructions for checking that the iaser in the longrange LiDAR is positioned correctly and meets certain criteria Manual for various quality control tests and assembly steps to be performed on short-range LiDAR during manufacturine Internal Project Chauffeur Tracking and Planning Document PBR lntensity Calibration 5 9 Google Issue 4 6 Presentation re three Chauffeur TL weekly updates - Q4 20t5 t7 Google Drive Google Drive Google Drive Google Drive Google Drive 18 T9 Each in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1832(a)(1), (2), (3) e'$). 20 2T FORFEITURE ALLEGATION: (18 U.S.C. $$ 1834 and2323 Theft of Trade Secrets) - Proceeds and Property lnvolved in 22 23 14. The allegations contained in Counts One through Thirfythree of this lndictment are 24 offenses, hereby realieged and incorporated as if fulty set forth here. Upon conviction of any of those 25 the defendant, 26 ANTHONY SCOTT LEVANDOWSKI, 27 States Code, Sections 1834 and shall forfeit to the United States of America, pursuant to Title 18, United 28 commit or facilitate the 2323,any property used, or intended to be used, in any mauLel or part to INDICTMENT 7 1 cornmission of the offenses, and any properby constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained 2 directly or indirectly as aresult of the commission of the offenses. a J 15. If any of the properfy described 8 a'. b. c. d. e. 9 difficulty, 4 5 6 1 above, as a result of any act or omission of the defendant: cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third pafiy; has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; has been substantially diminished in value; or has been commingled with other properly which cannot be divided without 10 the United States of America shall be entitled to forfeiture of substitute property pursuant to Title 21, 11 United States Code, Section 853G), t2 AJI pursuant to i3 L4 DATED Title as incorporated by Title 18, United States Code, Section 2323@). 18, United States Code, Sections 1834 and 2323 '3'15-l A TRTIE BILL. 15 16 FO t7 18 DAVID L. ANDERSON United States Attomey 19 20 2l KATHERINE L. 22 ANDREW F. DAWSON AMIE D. ROONEY Assistant United States Attorneys 23 24 25 26 27 28 INDICTMENT 8 . SHAtffi# ffiY GRffiHR AO 257 (Rev. 678) N - IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT DEFENDANT INFORMATION RELATIVE T BY: f] coMPLAtNT f] E] rNotcrurrur rrunoRnitRrroru E OFFENSE CHARGED 8 U.s.C. I tr tr tr 1 SAN JOSE DIVISION Petty Minor DEFENDANT. U.S Misde- meanor Fdlony PENALTY: NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA supERseotruc 832(aX1), (2), (3) & (4) - Theft and Attempted Theft ofTrade Secrets; and 1 8 U.S.C 55 1843 and 2323 - Criminal Forfeiture. 1 Name of District Court, and/or Judge/Magistrate Location Maximum Penalties (per Count): 10 years imprisonmenq S25O000 fine, or twice the gross gain/loss; 5100 special assessmen! and Anthony Scott Levandowski ) LHK. 19 0&s?E DISTRICT COURT NUMBER 3 years' supervised release. DEFENDANT IS /VOTIN CUSTODY PROCEEDING Name of Complaintant Agency, or Person (& Title, if any) 1) E] Federal Bureau of lnvestigation tr person is awaiting trial in another Federal or State Court, give name of court 2)f, 3) tr [ Has not been arrested, pending outcome this proceeding. tr not detained give date any prior sUmmons was served on above charges lsaFugitive ts on Bail or Release trom (sffi this person/proceeding is transferred from another district per(circle one) FRCrp.20,21, or 40..Show District ., Hg AUO 1.5 IS IN CUSTODY U> IUIU -'= 4) [ On this charge 5) ! On another conviction ! trial on other charges .Awaiting lf answer to (6) is "Yes", show name of institution this is a reprosecution of previously charges dismissed n which were dismissed on motion SHOW f] u.s.ArroRNFr f] I fl 6) DEFENSE this prosecution relates to a RendinO case involving this same defendant Has detainer been filed? MAGISTRATE CASE NO. DATE OF prior proceedings or appearance(s) before U.S. Magistrate regarding this defendant were recorded under Name and Office of Person Furnishing Information on this form [ Name of Assistant U.S. Attorney (if assigned) U.S. ) ! DOCKET NO. of: ARREST r Jl f] State lf "Yes" give date Rtea Month/DayA/ear Or... if Arresting Agency & Warrant were not DATE TRANSFERRED TO U.S. CUSTODY DAVID L. ANDERSON Attorney I Yes E No ) Federal I ) Month/DayA/ear Other U.S. Agency I Katherine L. Wawrzyniak This report amends AO 257 previously submitted ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS PROCESS: ESUMMONS n NOPROCESS. EWARRANT If Summons, complete following: f] Arraignment f] Bail Amount No bail * Where defendant previously apprehended on complaint, no new summons or wanant needed, since Magistrate has scheduled anaignment lnitial Appearance Defendant Address: Date/Time: ') Comments: I Before Judge: