Rivos chip startup reaches settlement in trade secrets lawsuit with Apple

In a joint court filing on Friday in California federal court, Apple and chip startup Rivos announced their intention to resolve a lawsuit accusing Rivos of stealing Apple’s trade secrets in computer-chip technology. The companies informed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that they have reached an agreement that could potentially settle the case. As part of the agreement, Apple will have the opportunity to inspect Rivos’ systems and retrieve any confidential information.

Representatives for Apple and Rivos did not immediately respond to requests for comment and more information about the settlement.

Apple sued “stealth” startup Rivos in 2022. It said Mountain View, California-based Rivos had hired dozens of engineers and used its confidential information to develop competing system-on-chip (SoC) technology.

SoCs are integrated circuits that have multiple computer components on a single chip, including CPUs and graphics processing units. Apple said in the lawsuit that it spent billions of dollars and more than a decade of research on its SoC designs and that they have “revolutionized the world of personal and mobile computing.”

Rivos denied the allegations, claiming that Apple had “attempted to punish the Rivos and any Apple employees who might aspire to work there from the moment Apple became aware of the promising startup.” It sued Apple last September for unfair competition.

Apple settled related claims last month against six former employees who left the company to join Rivos.

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