o9 Solutions has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, accusing SAP SE and SAP America of misusing confidential information and proprietary technology. The complaint alleges that SAP incorporated o9 trade secrets into its Integrated Business Planning software and related commercial activities, aided by three former o9 executives who allegedly downloaded more than 20,000 sensitive files before leaving the company.
According to the filing, the individuals held privileged access to o9’s architecture, design documents, and commercial plans, and later joined SAP in roles linked to its competitive strategy. o9 asserts that these actions allowed SAP to shortcut innovation efforts and unfairly enter the market with capabilities resembling o9’s own platform.
o9 Co-Founder and CEO Chakri Gottemukkala stated, “We are proud of the innovations of the o9 Digital Brain platform powered by its Enterprise Knowledge Graph technology, and the value that it is driving in the marketplace. Blatant copying and misappropriation of proprietary intellectual property create an unfair playing field.” He added, “We will vigorously protect o9’s valuable intellectual property and confidential business knowledge while continuing to develop industry-changing technologies that benefit our customers across many industries worldwide.”
The complaint argues that SAP promoted offerings using concepts allegedly created by o9, framing it as a coordinated misuse of confidential know-how. The case underscores growing worries about corporate espionage and the high stakes in advanced planning and analytics.
