Apple has reached a settlement with Rivos, resolving the lawsuit that accused Rivos of stealing trade secrets related to Apple’s SoCs. The settlement allows Apple to access Rivos’ systems and recover any confidential information it finds. Both companies have signed an agreement that potentially settles the case, and they are requesting the Court to stay the action and vacate all pending deadlines through March 15, 2024, by which time they expect these activities to be completed.

The initial lawsuit was filed by Apple in 2022, alleging that Rivos hired away several Apple engineers while using confidential Apple information to develop “system-on-chip” (SoC) technology to compete with Apple. SoCs integrate multiple computer components into a single chip, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphic processing unit (GPU).

In its complaint, Apple claimed it invested billions of dollars and over 10 years of research in developing its SoC designs, which have revolutionized the personal and mobile computing worlds. On the other hand, Rivos denied the allegations and accused Apple of seeking to punish Rivos and any former Apple employees who joined the startup. In fact, Rivos countersued Apple for unfair competition last September.

According to Apple’s original suit, Rivos allegedly initiated a coordinated campaign in June 2021 to target Apple employees with access to proprietary and trade secret information about Apple’s SoC designs. The lawsuit also alleged that former employees used USB flash drives to transfer data from company laptops and even used Apple’s AirDrop feature to send files to their personal iPhones after leaving for Rivos.

This settlement marks an important development in the legal dispute between Apple and Rivos. As both companies work towards resolving their differences, we will continue to monitor this case for further updates.