Nvidia has reached a settlement with Valeo, resolving a trade-secrets lawsuit tied to autonomous-driving software and ending a trial that had been scheduled for early next year. The agreement was disclosed in a federal court filing in San Jose, California, though neither company released financial terms or additional details. The dispute stemmed from work both companies performed for Mercedes-Benz on advanced driver-assistance technologies.
The case originated in 2021, when Valeo alleged that a former employee who later joined Nvidia brought proprietary source code with him. During a video call with Nvidia, Valeo engineers noticed what they said was verbatim Valeo code displayed on the former employee’s screen and documented the incident. Valeo filed suit in 2023, accusing Nvidia of benefiting from confidential material taken without authorization. Nvidia denied using any of Valeo’s code, saying it reversed the employee’s work and severed ties once the issue surfaced.
Earlier this year, a U.S. district judge ruled that Valeo had presented sufficient circumstantial evidence for the case to proceed to a jury, clearing the way for trial before the parties settled. The former Valeo engineer involved in the dispute was separately convicted in Germany for infringing business secrets related to Valeo’s software. The settlement brings the litigation to a close without a public determination on the merits of the claims.
