Electric vehicle (EV) company Canoo has filed a lawsuit accusing several former employees of “corporate espionage,” alleging that they stole trade secrets to launch a rival EV company, Harbinger.
Canoo was founded in 2017 and has attracted significant supply agreements, including up to 10,000 Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDVs) from Walmart and has delivered its vehicles to the US Army and NASA.
According to recently filed documents, Canoo has over $2 billion in orders, including $750 million binding. However, the company has struggled financially, recently expressing “significant doubt” about its ability to continue doing business due to accumulated losses.
On December 22, electric vehicle (EV) company Canoo filed a lawsuit in California against former employees and EV startup Harbinger, alleging that they stole intellectual property and violated trade secret policies.
Canoo claims that Harbinger, which was founded by former Canoo employees, stole its EV platform technology and used it to compete in the same market. Canoo also accuses Harbinger of recruiting 66% of its workforce, or 33 employees, from Canoo using confidential information and trade secrets.
In response, Harbinger has denied the allegations and stated that it will defend itself against “any baseless allegations brought forth by Canoo.”
