Anthony Levandowski is the French-American engineer who helped create Google’s self-driving car, was later indicted on 33 counts of trade secret theft after downloading thousands of files on his way to a trucking startup Uber bought, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, received a full pardon from President Donald Trump, and today runs an autonomous haulage company moving limestone and ore at mining sites around the world.
How He Became Central to Self-Driving Cars
Levandowski grew up in Brussels and moved to Northern California at 14 to live with his father. He studied industrial engineering at UC Berkeley, where in 2002 he learned about the DARPA Grand Challenge and built a riderless autonomous motorcycle called GhostRider in a garage near campus.1Business Insider. Google Waymo Self-Driving Uber ATG Levandowski2IEEE Spectrum. GhostRider: The Self-Driving Motorbike That Launched Anthony Levandowski The project connected him to Velodyne, where he sold 64-laser lidar scanners to other DARPA teams, and then to Stanford’s Sebastian Thrun, who hired him for Google Street View and the Ground Truth mapping project.3Wired. Anthony Levandowski Put Himself at the Center of the Industry
In 2007 he incorporated 510 Systems, which built the lidar, GPS, and camera rigs for Google’s mapping cars. When Google launched its self-driving effort, Project Chauffeur, in 2008, Levandowski was its hardware lead. His private companies built Google’s first fleet of autonomous Toyota Priuses while he worked for Google as a contractor.4IEEE Spectrum. The Unknown Startup That Built Google’s First Self-Driving Car Google bought 510 Systems and a sister company, Anthony’s Robots, for roughly $20 million in 2011 to keep the technology out of competitors’ hands. To offset the modest sale price, Larry Page arranged a bonus giving Levandowski 10 percent of Project Chauffeur’s future valuation; other key team members got 0.5 percent.1Business Insider. Google Waymo Self-Driving Uber ATG Levandowski The team he helped build eventually became Waymo.5U.S. Department of Justice. Former Uber Executive Sentenced to 18 Months in Jail for Trade Secret Theft From Google
The Files He Took From Google
Levandowski resigned from Google without notice in January 2016. Prosecutors said that in the weeks before he left, while already in talks with Uber, he downloaded about 14,000 files from Google’s servers onto his personal laptop. Waymo later put the total at 9.7 gigabytes and said it included engineering details about its lidar systems, printed circuit board schematics, and confidential testing documentation. Waymo also alleged he wiped and reformatted his company laptop afterward.6The Guardian. Anthony Levandowski: Google Trade Secrets Theft7BBC. Waymo Sues Uber Over Self-Driving Secrets
After leaving, he co-founded Otto, a self-driving truck startup, with former Google colleague Lior Ron. In August 2016, Uber acquired Otto, with CEO Travis Kalanick announcing Levandowski would lead Uber’s self-driving efforts in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Pittsburgh. The deal was widely reported at $680 million, but court filings later showed the structure was heavily milestone-dependent and the actual payout could have been as low as $220 million. Levandowski himself was granted 5.31 million Uber shares, nearly 45 percent of the purchase price.8IEEE Spectrum. Turns Out Uber Got Otto on the Cheap9Claims Journal. Uber Acquires Self-Driving Truck Startup Otto
Waymo v. Uber and Getting Fired
Waymo sued Uber in February 2017 in the Northern District of California, alleging Uber had acquired Otto knowing it came with stolen Waymo trade secrets. The company pointed to an Otto lidar circuit board drawing it called a “striking resemblance” to its own designs. The case went before Judge William Alsup.7BBC. Waymo Sues Uber Over Self-Driving Secrets
Levandowski invoked his Fifth Amendment right throughout the litigation, refusing to answer questions or turn over documents. In May 2017, Judge Alsup issued a preliminary injunction removing him from lidar work at Uber, ordered the return of stolen documents, and referred the matter for a federal criminal investigation. Days later, on May 30, 2017, Uber fired him. General counsel Salle Yoo wrote that his refusal to comply had “impeded Uber’s internal investigation and defense of the lawsuit.”10The Guardian. Uber Fires Self-Driving Car Head Anthony Levandowski None of his 5.31 million Uber shares had vested; he reportedly left with a $100,000 signing bonus.8IEEE Spectrum. Turns Out Uber Got Otto on the Cheap
The civil case went to trial in February 2018 and settled five days in. Uber gave Waymo 0.34 percent of its equity, valued at approximately $245 million, and agreed not to use Waymo’s confidential information in its autonomous vehicle technology.11Harvard Journal of Law and Technology. Waymo v. Uber: Surprise Settlement Five Days Into Trial
The Criminal Case and 18-Month Sentence
On August 15, 2019, a federal grand jury indicted Levandowski on 33 counts of theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, in case 3:19-cr-00377.12CourtListener. United States v. Levandowski Under a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to a single count, admitting he had downloaded an internal tracking document titled “Chauffeur TL weekly updates – Q4 2015” that contained confidential project status details. He acknowledged the document was a trade secret and that the estimated loss was up to $1.5 million. Prosecutors dismissed the other 32 counts.5U.S. Department of Justice. Former Uber Executive Sentenced to 18 Months in Jail for Trade Secret Theft From Google
On August 4, 2020, Judge Alsup sentenced him to 18 months in prison, a $95,000 fine, $756,499.22 in restitution to Waymo, and three years of supervised release. Citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the judge ordered that he need not report to prison until the risks had subsided.5U.S. Department of Justice. Former Uber Executive Sentenced to 18 Months in Jail for Trade Secret Theft From Google13New York Times. Levandowski Google Uber Sentencing Trade Secrets
The $179 Million Google Judgment and Bankruptcy
In December 2019, a private arbitration panel found that Levandowski and Ron had engaged in unfair competition and breached their Google employment agreements by poaching employees for Otto. The panel awarded Google $179 million, including a $127 million base plus interest and attorneys’ fees. A San Francisco County court confirmed the award on March 4, 2020.14New York Times. Anthony Levandowski Google Uber15CNBC. Ex-Uber Self-Driving Head Anthony Levandowski Declares Bankruptcy
Levandowski filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy that same day, listing assets of $50 million to $100 million and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million. He argued Uber was contractually required to indemnify him; Uber called the obligation “subject to a dispute.” Ron settled his portion separately for $9.7 million, paid in full by Uber.16TechCrunch. Anthony Levandowski Ordered to Pay $179 Million to Google17CNN. Anthony Levandowski Bankruptcy Google Levandowski sued Uber in bankruptcy court to force it to cover the judgment, and the dispute ultimately settled with Uber paying Google directly. The amount was sealed, though the court described it as “substantially larger” than the $2 million Uber separately paid to fund the Chapter 11 plan. Judge Hannah Blumenstiel of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California approved the plan on April 21, 2022.18Bloomberg Law. Ex-Uber Engineer Wins Approval of Bankruptcy Plan Google Deal19GovInfo. Levandowski Bankruptcy Memorandum Opinion
The Trump Pardon
On January 20, 2021, in the final hours of his first administration, President Donald Trump granted Levandowski a full pardon for his criminal conviction. The White House called him “a brilliant, groundbreaking engineer that our country needs” who had “paid a significant price for his actions.” The pardon meant he never had to serve the 18-month sentence.20CNBC. Anthony Levandowski Pardoned After Stealing Trade Secrets From Google Supporters listed in the White House statement included venture capitalist Peter Thiel, Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey, Founders Fund partner Trae Stephens, Thiel Capital COO Blake Masters, and Michael Ovitz.21Trump White House Archives. Statement Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency
The pardon covered only the criminal conviction. It did not touch the civil financial obligations being resolved through the bankruptcy.
What He Is Doing Now
Levandowski co-founded Pronto AI in 2018 with Ognen Stojanovski, originally pursuing driver-assistance for Class 8 trucks and passenger vehicles. By 2019 he had pivoted the company toward off-road autonomy for industrial haulage at mining and construction sites, reasoning that controlled environments were more tractable than public roads.22TechCrunch. Why Anthony Levandowski’s Pronto AV Startup Went Offroad Pronto’s Autonomous Haulage System runs heavy-duty dump trucks with cameras, GPS, and onboard computers rather than the lidar and radar stacks most autonomous vehicle companies use. In 2025, Pronto acquired competitor SafeAI, adding a multi-sensor system and a 12-person engineering team to Pronto’s roughly 40-person operation.23TechCrunch. AV Startup Pronto AI Acquires Off-Road Autonomous Vehicle Rival SafeAI
Pronto’s largest customer is Heidelberg Materials. A pilot at a Lake Bridgeport, Texas quarry moved more than two million tons of limestone in eight months, and in February 2025 the partnership expanded to a global agreement covering at least 100 additional trucks over three years across a dozen Heidelberg mines. Operations have since extended to additional sites in Indiana, Texas, and Brazil.24Bloomberg. Anthony Levandowski Deal to Expand Self-Driving Pioneer’s Trucking Fleet25Pronto AI. Pronto Announces Expansion of Autonomous Haulage Operations
As of 2026, Pronto has been acquired by Atoms, a physical AI company founded by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Pronto now serves as the core technology engine of the Atoms Mining division, with Levandowski as Head of Atoms Mining and Transport.25Pronto AI. Pronto Announces Expansion of Autonomous Haulage Operations
Other Ventures: AI Church and a Crypto Telecom Network
Two side projects often come up in connection with Levandowski’s name. In 2015 he founded Way of the Future, a California nonprofit religious corporation dedicated to “the realization, acceptance, and worship of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence.” The IRS granted it tax-exempt status in August 2017.26Wired. Anthony Levandowski Artificial Intelligence Religion He shut it down at the end of 2021, donating its $175,172 in remaining assets to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, then revived it in late 2023, claiming a congregation of “a couple thousand people.” Academic observers have described it as operating “underground, if at all.”27The Revealer. The Churches of Artificial Intelligence
In 2022 he launched Pollen Mobile, a peer-to-peer wireless data network built originally to connect Pronto’s trucks at remote sites. Participants bought small cell radios and were initially paid in a cryptocurrency token called PollenCoin. By early 2023 the network had roughly 800 transmission sites, but a shift away from the token toward a U.S. dollar model drew backlash from early participants who accused the company of a “rug pull.”28TechCrunch. Anthony Levandowski’s Latest Moonshot Is a Peer-to-Peer Telecom Network29Light Reading. Pollen Mobile Distances Itself From Crypto