Perplexity AI sued by startup for allegedly stealing 'wake word' technology

Startup DaVoice has sued Perplexity AI in California federal court for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to "wake word" technology for AI assistants.

* The heavily redacted complaint, filed on Thursday, said that Perplexity stole DaVoice's secrets after the companies collaborated on unspecified technology "built with DaVoice's proprietary source code, inference logic, network architecture, training approaches, training data, and know-how."

* Spokespeople for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.


* DaVoice specializes in technology that allows devices to continuously listen for "wake words" to activate them.

* The startup said that it has collaborated with companies including Volkswagen and internet-of-things company Samsara.

* Perplexity is best known for its AI-powered search engine technology and Comet browser and AI assistant

The case is DaVoice v. Perplexity AI Inc, US District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3:26-cv-10909.

For DaVoice: Davida Brook and Ian Crosby of Susman Godfrey

For Perplexity: attorney information not yet available.