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The Uber Bombshell About to Drop

danielcompton.net

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Re: The Uber Bombshell About to Drop

#21

Post by sfeng »

temp246810 wrote: post #18

Not related - but I do find it ironic that google is up in arms about stolen tech given Steve Jobs' vendetta against google over stolen smart phone ideas. And yes I realize that the gravity of the situation here is different but it's still an amusing thought - not sure why everyone is so offended by this comment. Regarding the lawsuit - I've learned that we have no clue what is going on behind the scenes, so why stre…

Given the context provided in this post, it seems pretty blatant and obvious. Stealing a design is one thing, stealing the circuit board design from an unreleased product is espionage.

Re: The Uber Bombshell About to Drop

#23

Post by [deleted] »

empath75 wrote: post #6
Analemma_ wrote: post #3

Yeah, this is a big deal. Uber has gambled everything on self-driving cars, what with their absurd burn rate and all. If that gets shut down because of trade secret injunctions, I don't think they have time to pivot to another strategy, especially after their reputation has nosedived.

It was a stupid moonshot play. They should have just focused on being a really good taxi company.

[deleted]

Re: The Uber Bombshell About to Drop

#24

Post by dantiberian »

kinghajj wrote: post #11
dantiberian wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The bombshell part specifically would be Levandowski arranging with Uber to steal Waymo tech, form Otto, and Uber would acquire Otto. In all of the reporting I read about this after the first filing, this was missed.

If true, would that open Uber to lawsuits from their investors for misuse of funds?

The SEC opened an investigation into Theranos, so possibly? The issue with Theranos was more around their representations to investors though. https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/17/the-sec-gets-the-case-its-...

Re: The Uber Bombshell About to Drop

#25

Post by civilian »

temp246810 wrote: post #18

Not related - but I do find it ironic that google is up in arms about stolen tech given Steve Jobs' vendetta against google over stolen smart phone ideas. And yes I realize that the gravity of the situation here is different but it's still an amusing thought - not sure why everyone is so offended by this comment. Regarding the lawsuit - I've learned that we have no clue what is going on behind the scenes, so why stre…

I'd like to clarify the use of the word "Stealing". It appears that Lewandowski _stole_ technical documentation and engineering work done around LiDAR. Google did not steal code, technical docs, or any engineering material. They recognized good usability concepts being used by Apple, and adapted them. They were matching the market leader's feature set. https://www.forbes.com/sites/timothylee/2011/10/25/yes-googl... It's a little different.

Re: The Uber Bombshell About to Drop

#26

Post by [deleted] »

tekklloneer wrote: post #9
empath75 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was a stupid moonshot play. They should have just focused on being a really good taxi company.

I disagree. They were in a prime position to be "the" self driving car company, if anyone was. Instead, hyper aggressive business tactics (which were largely unwarranted) has backfired.

[deleted]

Re: The Uber Bombshell About to Drop

#27

Post by mevile »

temp246810 wrote: post #18

Not related - but I do find it ironic that google is up in arms about stolen tech given Steve Jobs' vendetta against google over stolen smart phone ideas. And yes I realize that the gravity of the situation here is different but it's still an amusing thought - not sure why everyone is so offended by this comment. Regarding the lawsuit - I've learned that we have no clue what is going on behind the scenes, so why stre…

There's a really big difference between copying other people's design ideas, and straight up an employee stealing confidential documents to form a startup and then immediately being bought by a competitor. The significance of this difference ought to be obvious.

Re: The Uber Bombshell About to Drop

#29

Post by harryh »

Uber passengers only pay 41% of the cost of trips, with investor capital making up the difference

FWIW this assertion (which isn't really core to the central thesis of the post, but still) is wrong. That number comes from

https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2016/12/01/2180647/the-taxi-unic...

but the author of that story misread the data. Uber only counts their cut as revenue not the full cost of the ride.

Despite this repetition (now corrected, thx!) of this incorrect data I find the overall thesis of the post compelling! As a disinterested bystander, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

EDIT: It turns out the original 41% statement comes from http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/11/can-uber-ever-deliver... not from the Financial Times. It can be hard to trace these things back sometimes.

Re: The Uber Bombshell About to Drop

#30

Post by hammock »

dantiberian wrote: post #5
beering wrote: post #2

TL;DR: The "Bombshell" is Alphabet/Waymo's lawsuit against Lewandowski and Uber for stealing trade secrets, and an interpretation that Lewandowski formed Otto basically as a cover to get a big payday from Uber in exchange for the secrets.

The bombshell part specifically would be Levandowski arranging with Uber to steal Waymo tech, form Otto, and Uber would acquire Otto. In all of the reporting I read about this after the first filing, this was missed.

I am reminded of an HN comment from 206 days ago that seemed prescient, even then: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12315888

This is from the big Bloomberg article/interview that came out today:

'Kalanick began courting Levandowski this spring, broaching the possibility of an acquisition during a series of 10-mile night walks from the Soma neighborhood where Uber is also headquartered to the Golden Gate Bridge. The two men would leave their offices separately—to avoid being seen by employees, the press, or competitors. They’d grab takeout food, then rendezvous near the city’s Ferry Building. Levandowski says he saw a union as a way to bring the company’s trucks to market faster.'

Which implies to me that the plan was for Uber to acquire Otto all along.

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