Posts Tagged: startup

Apple reaches possible settlement with the startup it sued for trade secret theft

Apple has reached a possible settlement with Rivos, the Mountain View startup it accused in 2022 of poaching its employees and stealing its trade secrets. In the companies' filing seen by Bloomberg and Reuters, they told the US District Court for the Northern District of California that they have signed an agreement that "potentially settles the case." Their deal would allow Apple to conduct a forensic examination of Rivos' systems, as well as of its activities. 

When the iPhonemaker sued Rivos, it said the startup led a "coordinated campaign" to hire away employees from its chip design division. Apple also accused the defendant of instructing the employees it hired away to steal presentations and other proprietary information for unreleased iPhone chip designs that cost billions of dollars to develop. Rivos countersued Apple last year, accusing the larger company of restricting employees' ability to work elsewhere and of hindering emerging startups' growth by using anticompetitive measures. 

The court dismissed Apple's trade secret claims against Rivos in April 2023, though the company was allowed to file a revised complaint. Apple already settled with its six former employees who filed a countersuit against the iPhonemaker along with Rivos after they dropped their claims against each other last month. Both companies are now requesting the court to put their cases on hold until March 15, when they expect the settlement to be completed. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-reaches-possible-settlement-with-the-startup-it-sued-for-trade-secret-theft-121513902.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Larry Page’s Kitty Hawk air taxi startup is shutting down

After more than a decade of trying to make flying cars a reality, Kitty Hawk is shutting down. “We’re still working on the details of what’s next,” the Larry Page-backed startup posted to LinkedIn on Wednesday afternoon. Before today’s announcement, the last time we heard from Kitty Hawk was in the spring of 2021 when it came out the company had parted ways with engineer Damon Vander Lind following “months” of infighting with Page and CEO Sebastian Thrun. Almost exactly a year earlier, the company canceled its original Flyer project and laid off most of the 70-person team that had worked on the aircraft.

It’s unclear why Kitty Hawk decided to call it quits, but comments Thrun made after the company ended development on Flyer may provide a clue. “No matter how hard we looked, we could not find a path to a viable business,” the chief executive said at the time. After Vander Lind’s departure the following year, it appeared Kitty Hawk was ready to double down on its Heavyside vertical take-off and landing aircraft. It acquired 3D Robotics and brought on the company’s co-founder, former Wired editor Chris Anderson, as chief operating officer.

Despite the demise of Kitty Hawk, this probably isn’t the last we’ll hear of Larry Page’s flying car ambitions. According to CNBC, Wednesday’s shutdown won’t affect Wisk Aero, the company that was borne out of a 2019 partnership between Kitty Hawk and Boeing.

“Kitty Hawk’s decision to cease operations does not change Boeing’s commitment to Wisk. We are proud to be a founding member of Wisk Aero and are excited to see the work they are doing to drive innovation and sustainability through the future of electric air travel,” Boeing told the outlet. “We do not expect Kitty Hawk’s announcement to affect Wisk’s operations or other activities in any way.”

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Michigan approves digital license plates by startup Reviver

Michigan drivers now have the option of adorning their cars with digital license plates, which can locate lost vehicles and receive public safety alerts — for a fee. Reviver, the maker of the connected plates, announced that Michigan residents and businesses can now purchase the device (known as the RPlate) online. Consumers can choose between two models: a battery-powered plate and a hard-wired plate that includes GPS. The plates have been available for sale in California and Arizona, and the company is aiming to make them available nationwide.

But what exactly is a digital license plate? The RPlate is essentially a license plate with an HD display and LTE connectivity (as well as GPS for the hard-wired model) that includes a number of security and personalization features. Drivers can switch between dark and light modes and select personalized messages to appear at the bottom. The GPS-enabled plate also includes telematic transponders, so it can locate a lost or stolen vehicle and send alerts to your smartphone if it detects suspicious movement. There’s a companion mobile app that allows drivers to track mileage and renew their vehicle registration online. 

Reviver's digital plate also includes a couple of security features that could be overkill for some. For example, there’s a “Valet Parking” mode that lets you monitor your car remotely while it is being parked by a valet attendant and a geofencing option for family members or employees who drive the car that sends alerts if they violate the travel boundaries.

The digital license plates don’t come cheap. Both models require a subscription ($ 19.95 per month for battery-powered and $ 24.95 per month for hard-wired) and cost an additional $ 150 if you elect to have a professional install the plate. The company is also working on a number of new features, including integration with toll roads, parking meters and additional DMV services.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

You’ve never heard the Windows XP startup music sound like this

Windows XP, aka the operating system that people and corporations just won’t let go of even though they really should, has more to contribute to the world than occasional malware outbreaks. While so far it hasn’t been as celebrated as, say, Windows 9…
Engadget

Space startup Astra’s first orbital rocket launch ends prematurely

The relatively small private rocket industry just got a little larger, if not quite in the way its new entrant hoped. The American startup Astra conducted a brief first orbital launch attempt (via TechCrunch) late on September 11th, with a successful…
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Volkswagen ends deal with self-driving startup Aurora

Volkswagen is cutting ties with Silicon Valley self-driving startup Aurora after only a year, amidst talks of working with Ford's Argo AI instead. Financial Times reported the news of the split, adding that VW expects to reach a deal with Argo AI thi…
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Automotive startup Rivian unveils an electric truck and SUV

Electrified SUVs are popping up everywhere. So it's no surprise that automotive startup Rivian has unveiled one of its own, the R1S. More exciting is the company's electron-powered pickup truck, the R1T.
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Hyperloop One co-founder has just launched a rival startup

Brogan BamBrogan, the co-founder of Hyperloop One and its former chief technology officer, has just launched a rival company bidding to develop the first fully operational hyperloop system.

The post Hyperloop One co-founder has just launched a rival startup appeared first on Digital Trends.

Cool Tech–Digital Trends

Virtual reality content startup Jaunt lands on PlayStation VR

The PlayStation VR just got some additional content via the recently announced app launch by Jaunt. The platform will have instant access to 150 cinematic titles from the startup. The app includes videos like the award-winning animation Invasion, CBS…
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Startup gives the Apple Watch two cameras by hiding them inside the band

Apple may not have had room to fit a camera inside its smartwatch, but why not put it inside the band? The CMRA band packs in a front- and rear-facing camera along with 8GB of storage inside of a connected wristband.

The post Startup gives the Apple Watch two cameras by hiding them inside the band appeared first on Digital Trends.

Wearables–Digital Trends

Startup Instrumments’ 01 measuring tool measures curved surfaces

The 01, the product of startup Instrumments, is a “dimensioning” tool that measures curved and contoured edges. It doubles as a pen or pencil, too, and pairs with a mobile device via Bluetooth for additional analysis.

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Mobile–Digital Trends

Microsoft partners with a legal weed startup

Microsoft is going into the legal marijuana business by teaming with a weed financing startup called "Kind," according to the New York Times. The two companies will create Azure-powered cloud apps that track plants from "seed to sale," helping legal…
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Chinese startup Moxi Group could release the first flexible smartphone this year

Flexible displays are being developed by a number of big companies, but so far we have yet to see a truly flexible device in stores. That could change later this year, however, with the release of such a device by Moxi Group.

The post Chinese startup Moxi Group could release the first flexible smartphone this year appeared first on Digital Trends.

Wearables–Digital Trends