By Sabah Meddings, Brody Ford and Alberto Brambilla | Bloomberg
Silicon Valley billionaire Thomas Siebel has accused Italian energy company Enel SpA of copying the IP of the software company he runs, C3.ai.
C3, based in Redwood City and known for its data management and analytics software, accused Enel of misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract in an Italian lawsuit. C3 says it owes 2.1 billion euros ($2.3 billion).
“This is an unfortunate situation,” Siebel said Thursday in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “Enel was a valued customer who gained access to much of our technology. It appears they may have copied thousands of lines of our source code.”
Enel declined to comment on the lawsuit or the interview.
Enel was one of C3’s early prominent customers. C3 has said the energy company used its products to integrate data from different divisions. Enel said in 2019 that the collaboration enabled “innovative business processes.”
However, the relationship between the two companies soured and now C3 accuses Enel of stealing its intellectual property rights. It turned to courts in Italy to file a legal claim in February, according to a regulatory filing.
“We must protect our intellectual property to benefit our shareholders, and we do,” Siebel said in the interview.
It has also filed a criminal complaint with Italian law enforcement and is “considering” doing the same with U.S. federal law enforcement, the filing said.
In a May 2023 interview with Bloomberg, Siebel spoke about the sour relationship. “Enel was hugely successful,” he said when asked about the status of his business with the Italian energy giant.
“For whatever reason they decided they wanted to own their own platform and they’re trying to build it themselves – we’ll see how that goes,” he said at the time.
With a ticker symbol that is literally “AI”, C3 was a major object of investor interest throughout 2023, as its shares more than doubled in value that year. It was also a much-abbreviated name with sellers expressing skepticism about its technology.
-With help from Ed Ludlow.
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