Uber trailed in self-driving car development, admits ex-CEO Travis Kalanick

Uber's co-founder and ex-CEO hired a star engineer from Waymo in a bid to catch up

Uber co-founder and ousted CEO Travis Kalanick has admitted that the company hired a leading engineer from Waymo because its own autonomous vehicle efforts were getting left behind.

The admission was made yesterday in the latest installment of the court battle between Google-owned Waymo and Uber, which has been accused of stealing Waymo's self-driving technology trade secrets.

Kalanick took the witness stand in the first week of the trial to be questioned about his role. He admitted that he had hired the engineer because Uber's autonomous car project lagged behind rivals' efforts, including Waymo's.

He spent nearly an hour testifying to the court and is expected to face further questioning from Waymo's lawyers today. In December 2015, Waymo filed suit against Uber for allegedly downloading documents outlining its self-driving car programme.

I wanted to hire Anthony and he wanted to start a company. So I wanted to come up with a situation where he could feel like he started a company and I could feel like I hired him

Kalanick said that, back in 2015, he had been disappointed with the pace of self-driving car developments taking place at the Uber Advanced Technologies Center.

To turn things around, he approached star Waymo engineer Anthony Levandowski. "Look, I wanted to hire Anthony and he wanted to start a company. So I wanted to come up with a situation where he could feel like he started a company and I could feel like I hired him," said Kalanick.

The ten-person jury has the task of deciding if these trade secrets weren't already common knowledge. Uber could face stiff financial consequences if the jury wides with Waymo - although Uber would almost certainly follow every avenue of appeal

Legal experts said that the court's decision could be influenced by the way Kalanick acts during these proceedings. When asked about Google being the market leader for self-driving cars, he responded: "I think that's the general perception right now."

Levandowski, however, has not taken to the stand yet. While he is listed as a witness, he has so far declined to take part - the trial is a civil case between Waymo and Uber and Levandowski is therefore not obliged to take the stand.

Autonomous vehicle technology is central to Uber's long-term plan of ditching its drivers and offering self-driving vehicles direct to the public - although it's open to question when that plan might be expected to come to fruition.