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The fierce battle over suspected corporate spies involving two Silicon Valley hottest startups on Tuesday brought a new twist after Deel, a $12 billion HR software company, allegedly instructed Arch Rival Rippling to “steal” the company’s assets under the guise of a customer.
The latest claim comes after the staff allegedly spying on behalf of Deal earlier this year. The employee followed his own testimony and was locked in the bathroom when he faced the allegations and broke the phone over the phone.
In a new legal application seen by the Financial Times, Deel rebutted by claiming:
The incident revealed an increasingly bitter rivalry between the two San Francisco-based groups. This is supported by top volleyball investors competing for typical Staid World of Workforce Management software.
The two high-tech unicorns are supported by some of America’s most well-known emerging investors. Andreessen Horowitz, Altimeter Capital and General Catalyst are investing in Deel. Founders Fund, Baillie Gifford and GIC funded ripples that were valued at $16.8 billion last month. Cotue is investing in both companies.
Deal attempts to dismiss Ripling’s original claim to direct corporate espionage and filed a lawsuit against Deal’s rivals on Deal’s reputation. That latest application was submitted Tuesday morning as an amendment to that case.
Rippling’s “competitive intelligence manager” Brett Alexander Johnson claims to have accessed Deel’s product and business practices over six months. That information was used to build one of Rippling’s products, Deel claims.
Deal’s investigation “remains in its early stages,” but the company still claims there is “clear evidence” of Johnson’s alleged activity.
Also, wavy CEO Parker Conrad has encouraged Johnson’s work, intending to reveal “the secret that dealt achieved years of profitability.”
Rippling originally filed a lawsuit against the Deal in California in March. Deal dismissed it and filed an allegation to transfer the case to Ireland. It filed separate civil lawsuits against ripples in Delaware. The latest claim is an amendment to the Delaware lawsuit.
The dispute stems from Ripling’s allegations filed in March in court that Deal cultivated wavy employee Keith O’Brien to steal secret business information for four months.
“The highest level of leadership at Deal relate to brave corporate spy schemes, and they are accountable,” said Alex Spiro, then Ripping lawyer.
O’Brien was locked in the bathroom when first confronted with a lawyer acting for the rippling. He later admitted in an affidavit sealed in an Irish court that he would destroy his phone with an x and dump it into the drain.
O’Brien also said in his testimony that he is active for the deal in the direction of CEO Alex Bouaziz.
Deal allegedly suggested O’Brien, and in fact, a whistleblower associated with Ripling’s business practices, and that he testified under obsession.
Ripples did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
