Waymo sued Uber in February 2017, claiming that former Waymo executive Anthony Levandowski downloaded more than 14,000 confidential files before leaving to set up a self-driving truck company, called Otto, which Uber acquired soon after. Levandowski has declined to answer questions about the allegations, citing constitutional protections against self-incrimination. Waymo claims former Waymo executive Anthony Levandowski downloaded more than 14,000 confidential files before leaving. Levandowski, then-head of Uber's self-driving program, is pictured above in 2016 The trial had been scheduled to begin on Dec. 4., but Waymo said it learned of new evidence after the U.S. Department of Justice shared it with Alsup. As a result, judge said in November that Uber withheld evidence in the lawsuit, delaying a trial to give Waymo time to review a letter alleging Uber trained employees to steal trade secrets and hide their tracks.

Two tech giants racing for a lead in autonomous driving clashed Monday in court as former Google car unit Waymo's lawyer argued that Uber's boss deliberately chose'to cheat' to get a leg up on competitors. The accusations flew in the opening day of a trial in which Google parent Alphabet's Waymo division is seeking at least $1 billion over the theft of trade secrets from its self-driving car program. In opening remarks before the jury in San Francisco federal court, Waymo lawyer Charles Verhoeven maintained that Uber's founder and former chief executive Travis Kalanick made the decision to use stolen trade secrets to enable the global ridesharing giant to move into autonomous driving. Google parent Alphabet's Waymo division is seeking at least $1 billion over the theft of trade secrets from its self-driving car program. 'He made a decision and the decision was to cheat,' Verhoeven said.

Uber Technologies Inc withheld evidence in a lawsuit filed by Alphabet Inc's Waymo, a U.S. judge said on Tuesday, delaying a trial to give Waymo time to review a letter alleging Uber trained employees to steal trade secrets and hide their tracks. The multibillion-dollar case has hobbled Uber's self-driving vehicle ambitions, and the latest setback comes as new Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi is working to lock in a major share sale this week and prepare for an initial public offering in 2019. The hearing on Tuesday centered on a letter from a lawyer for former Uber security analyst Richard Jacobs that Uber did not show Waymo as both sides prepared their cases. A self-driving Uber sits ready to take journalists for a ride during a media preview in Pittsburgh. A federal criminal investigation into alleged espionage at Uber has indefinitely delayed a trial over whether the beleaguered ride-hailing service stole self-driving car technology from Waymo, a spinoff from Google.