AI Firm Accuses SAP of Stealing Supply-Chain Trade Secrets
(Bloomberg) — SAP SE is being sued by supply chain artificial intelligence firm o9 Solutions Inc., which claims three of its former executives stole the European software giant’s trade secrets. A lawsuit was filed by.
In a complaint filed Tuesday in Dallas federal court, o9 alleged that the stolen trade secrets were related to the design, implementation and testing of supply chain management software. Its backers include KKR & Co. and General Atlantic, the company’s value was estimated at $3.7 billion in 2023.
According to o9, SAP, the long-time market leader, was losing customers to its competitors in the field of business planning software due to its outdated platform. As a result, SAP allegedly launched an “aggressive campaign” targeting o9’s trade secrets. Since the documents were reportedly stolen, o9 claims that SAP modified its software to closely reflect the startup’s offerings.
A representative for SAP declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also names three former o9 executives, all in the Netherlands, who the company says participated in trade secret theft by downloading tens of thousands of documents. All three were in contact with SAP employees, including the o9 allegations, before their departure.
According to the lawsuit, o9’s former chief revenue officer, Stephan de Barse, is now president of SAP’s global business group; former o9 Global SVP Sean Zonneveld is currently global chief revenue officer of purchasing at SAP; and Stijn-Pieter van Houten, former o9 senior vice president and information innovation leader, is now SAP’s chief product officer for supply chain management planning.
o9 lawyers said the company understands the importance of fair competition and employee mobility.
“However, o9 cannot and will not allow its trade secrets to be misappropriated,” they said in the lawsuit. “Trade secret theft fundamentally undermines o9’s significant investments in research, development and providing customers with transformative solutions that will improve business operations.”
The case is o9 Solutions v. SAP SE, 25-cv-03245, U.S. District Court, North District of Texas (Dallas).
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