Theft Of Google’s Biggest Secrets: Silicon Valley’s $245M Heist And Why Trump Gave A Pardon In 2020
The Oasis Reporters
December 18, 2024
By Baptiste Parravicini
( Baptiste @BaptisteVicini on X, also known as Twitter)
This man was convicted of 33 felonies for stealing Google’s biggest secrets.
Then Trump pardoned him on his last day in office.
Not for politics. Not for loyalty. But for something much bigger…
Here’s why Trump forgave Silicon Valley’s $245 Million heist:
The year was 2016.
Self-driving cars were the hottest innovation in tech.
Every major company was racing to dominate this trillion-dollar opportunity.
But one company was miles ahead of everyone else..
Google’s Waymo had a seemingly unbeatable lead:
Hundreds of thousands of test miles.
Years of research and development.
The world’s best engineers.
Their technology was worth billions. And it was locked in a vault.
Or so they thought.
Meet Anthony Levandowski: Not just another engineer – he was the architect behind Google’s self-driving technology. He helped build Waymo’s foundation from the ground up. But in January 2016, Levandowski suddenly quit Google…
Six months later, he launched Otto – a self-driving truck startup.
Then came a bombshell:
Uber acquired Otto for $680 million just months after its founding.
The speed of the deal raised eyebrows. Here’s why:
Before leaving Google, Levandowski downloaded 14,000 secret files.
These weren’t random documents. They were Google’s crown jewels:
The complete blueprint for their lidar technology — the “eyes” that make self-driving cars possible.
This wasn’t just corporate espionage…
This was like stealing the recipe for Coca-Cola.
Google had invested years and billions perfecting this technology.
Follow link:
https://x.com/BaptisteVicini/status/1869074654658539571
And Levandowski had just walked away with everything.
But karma works in mysterious ways:
The truth came out by accident.
A supplier mistakenly sent Google designs for Uber’s lidar system.
One problem: They looked exactly like Google’s secret technology.
Google’s investigation uncovered something massive:
The evidence was overwhelming:
14,000 confidential files downloaded
The sudden launch of Otto.
The rushed $680M Uber acquisition But the most damning part? Internal emails showed Uber executives knew exactly what they were doing.
On January 19, 2021 – Trump’s last full day in office:
A wave of pardons was announced.
Among them was Anthony Levandowski.
The pardon came after Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey lobbied on his behalf.
Their argument?
They claimed Levandowski’s contributions to self-driving technology outweighed his mistakes.
His innovations were pushing America forward.
The message sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley:
Some people are “too brilliant” to be bound by normal rules.
The aftermath was stark:
Uber paid Google $245 million in settlement
Their self-driving program never recovered
By 2020, they sold their Advanced Technologies Group to Aurora Innovation.
Meanwhile, Waymo emerged as the undisputed leader in self-driving technology.
Follow to Twitter :
https://x.com/BaptisteVicini/status/1869074654658539571
The implications of this story reach far beyond Silicon Valley.
It’s about how technology shapes our future – and who controls that future.
Because in today’s world, innovation isn’t just about products.
It’s about understanding where technology is heading.
Today, we’re seeing similar battles in:
AI and automation
Banking infrastructure
Digital transformation.
Each wave brings new opportunities – and new ethical challenges
Written by Baptiste Parravicini:
Tech entrepreneur & API visionary
Co-founder of apidays, world’s leading API conference who is passionate about AI integration & tech for the greater good
