Apple and Rivos, a chip startup, have agreed to settle a lawsuit that involved allegations of trade secret theft and employee poaching, according to a joint court filing on Friday in California. The lawsuit, which was filed by Apple in 2022, claimed that Rivos had hired dozens of its engineers and used its confidential information to develop competing “system-on-chip” (SoC) technology. SoCs are integrated circuits that combine several computer components in a single chip, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphic processing unit (GPU).
The court filing revealed that the settlement will enable Apple to conduct a forensic examination of Rivos’ systems and retrieve any of its confidential information that may have been stolen. The companies also stated that they had “signed an agreement that potentially settles the case.” The filing requested the court to “continue to stay this action and vacate all pending deadlines through March 15, 2024, by which time the parties expect these activities to be completed.”
Apple had alleged in its lawsuit that it had invested billions of dollars and more than a decade of research to create its SoC designs, which had “revolutionized the personal and mobile computing worlds.” Apple accused Rivos of launching a “coordinated campaign” in June 2021 to target its employees who had access to its proprietary and trade secret information about its SoC designs. Apple claimed that some of its former employees had used USB drives and AirDrop to transfer sensitive data to their personal devices before joining Rivos.
Rivos, which is based in Mountain View, California, had denied the accusations and countersued Apple in September 2022 for unfair competition. Rivos had argued that Apple had “sought to punish Rivos and any Apple employees who may seek to work there since the moment Apple learned about the promising startup.”
The settlement comes amid a fierce competition in the chip industry, as Apple and other tech giants are developing their own SoCs to power their devices and reduce their reliance on external suppliers. Apple’s SoCs, such as the A-series and M-series chips, are widely regarded as some of the most advanced and efficient in the market. Rivos, which was founded in 2020, is one of the few startups that are trying to challenge Apple’s dominance in the SoC space. According to its website, Rivos is working on “the next generation of SoCs for cloud, edge, and mobile computing.
The terms and conditions of the settlement have not been disclosed by either party. Representatives for Apple and Rivos did not immediately respond to requests for comment and more information about the settlement.