Ex-Google engineer charged with stealing trade secrets

Anthony Levandowski, a pioneer in self-driving car technology, was criminally charged on Tuesday with stealing trade secrets from his former employer Google before joining rival Uber Technologies Inc.

The 33-count indictment made public by the U.S. Department of Justice largely mirrors allegations that the Waymo unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc, where Levandowski had worked, made in a 2017 civil lawsuit against Uber, which later settled.

His lawyers said Levandowski stole nothing, and that they looked forward to proving his innocence at trial.

Levandowski, 39, pleaded not guilty to the charges through one of his lawyers, at an arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins in San Jose, California.