SAN FRANCISCO — Uber, the ride-hailing company, sidestepped a full shutdown of its self-driving car efforts on Monday when a federal judge stopped short of issuing a temporary injunction against the program.
But the court mandated that Anthony Levandowski, a star engineer leading the program, be prohibited from working on a critical component of autonomous vehicle technology for the duration of the litigation, a setback that could hamper Uber’s development efforts.
The decision was in a case that has underlined the increasingly bitter fight between Uber and Waymo, the self-driving car business that operates under Google’s parent company. The companies have been competing in the development of autonomous vehicles, which many consider the future of transportation. The outcome of the case may affect who wins or loses in the technology, which has also drawn other tech companies, automakers and start-ups.
For years, Google had an advantage as an early entrant in autonomous vehicle research. But more recently, Uber has poured millions of dollars into bringing self-driving cars to the mainstream, with Apple and others also diving in. Automakers, including General Motors and Ford, have invested in artificial intelligence start-ups like Cruise Automation and Argo AI in hopes of building the software that will run self-driving cars.
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But the court mandated that Anthony Levandowski, a star engineer leading the program, be prohibited from working on a critical component of autonomous vehicle technology for the duration of the litigation, a setback that could hamper Uber’s development efforts.
The decision was in a case that has underlined the increasingly bitter fight between Uber and Waymo, the self-driving car business that operates under Google’s parent company. The companies have been competing in the development of autonomous vehicles, which many consider the future of transportation. The outcome of the case may affect who wins or loses in the technology, which has also drawn other tech companies, automakers and start-ups.
For years, Google had an advantage as an early entrant in autonomous vehicle research. But more recently, Uber has poured millions of dollars into bringing self-driving cars to the mainstream, with Apple and others also diving in. Automakers, including General Motors and Ford, have invested in artificial intelligence start-ups like Cruise Automation and Argo AI in hopes of building the software that will run self-driving cars.
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