Billionaire Siebel Sued Enel Over Trade Secret Theft Allegations

Silicon Valley billionaire Thomas Siebel has accused the Italian energy company Enel SpA of copying the IP of the software firm he runs, C3.ai.

C3, based in Redwood City, California and known for its data management and analysis software, accused Enel of misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract in an Italian civil suit. C3 says it is owed €2.1 billion ($2.3 billion).

“This is an unfortunate situation,” Siebel said Thursday in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “Enel was a valued customer that accessed a lot of our tech. It appears they may have copied thousands of lines of our source code.”

Enel declined to comment on the lawsuit or the interview.

Enel was one of C3’s early prominent customers. C3 has said the energy firm used its products to integrate data from across divisions. Enel said in 2019 that the collaboration allowed for “innovative business processes.”

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However, the relationship between the two companies soured, and now C3 is accusing of Enel of stealing its intellectual property. It turned to courts in Italy to file a legal claim in February, according to a regulatory filing.

“We have to protect our IP rights to benefit our shareholders, and we are doing that,” Siebel said in the interview.

It has also filed a criminal report with Italian law enforcement and is “considering” doing the same with US Federal law enforcement, it said in the filing.

In a May 2023 interview with Bloomberg, Siebel spoke about the souring relationship. “Enel was hugely successful,” he said when asked about the status of its business with the Italian energy giant.

“For some reason they decided they wanted to own their own platform and they’re trying to build it themselves — we’ll see how that goes,” he said at the time.

With a ticker symbol that is literally “AI”, C3 was a major subject of investor interest throughout 2023, seeing its shares more than double in value that year. It was also a highly-shorted name with sellers expressing skepticism over its technology.

Top photo: Thomas M. Siebel, chief executive officer of C3.AI Inc., during a panel session at the Bloomberg Tech Summit in London, UK, on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. The UK has struggled to keep its tech firms owned by local investors. Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg.