Judge Orders Nvidia to Face Trial Over Alleged Trade Secret Theft from Valeo

Nvidia has been ordered to face trial over allegations that it used stolen autonomous driving trade secrets from Valeo. A California judge found circumstantial evidence to support the claims, including Nvidia's rapid development of parking technology and similarities between its code and Valeo's proprietary files. Nvidia denies wrongdoing, stating it relied solely on internal development for autonomous driving features.

A US federal judge has ruled that Nvidia Corp. will face a jury trial in November over allegations that it used stolen trade secrets from Valeo. The ruling, based on circumstantial evidence, marks a significant legal test for the auto-tech industry.

The case centers around Mohammad Moniruzzaman, a former Valeo engineer who joined Nvidia in 2021. During a 2022 video call, Valeo employees observed Moniruzzaman’s screen displaying their confidential source code, leading to screenshots and a subsequent investigation. German authorities convicted Moniruzzaman in 2023 for unlawful acquisition of trade secrets [1].

Valeo alleges that Nvidia benefited from the stolen code, which was integrated into Nvidia's parking-assistance technology. Nvidia denies the allegations, stating it relied solely on internal development for its autonomous driving features. The judge, however, dismissed some claims but allowed the central allegations to proceed to trial [2].

Legal experts note that the trial could set important precedents for how courts treat cross-border investigations of stolen code, the responsibility of large tech employers for employees’ prior conduct, and the potential costs of integrating third-party talent into safety-critical systems like advanced driver assistance [3].

The case highlights the escalating stakes of intellectual property (IP) disputes in the AI and autonomous driving sectors. Investors and financial professionals will closely monitor the trial, as a jury verdict could carry financial and operational consequences for Nvidia and influence how the industry handles hiring, code provenance, and cross-company collaboration.

References:

[1] https://www.outlookbusiness.com/news/high-stakes-test-for-ai-auto-tech-nvidia-ordered-to-face-jury-trial-in-valeo-trade-secrets-case
[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-29/nvidia-faces-trial-over-engineer-s-stolen-code-oops-moment
[3] https://www.ainvest.com/news/nvidia-trade-secret-lawsuit-implications-integrity-long-term-valuation-ai-autonomous-driving-2508/