Google announced a settlement in a patent infringement lawsuit related to the chips powering the company’s artificial-intelligence technology. The resolution was disclosed in a filing made in a Massachusetts federal court, Reuters news report said.
The settlement comes on the same day when closing arguments were set to commence in the trial brought forth by Singular Computing. Singular Computing’s lawsuit had initially sought $1.67 billion in damages, alleging Google’s misuse of its computer-processing innovations.
Details surrounding the settlement were not immediately disclosed, and both Google and Singular representatives confirmed the resolution without providing further comments at this time. Throughout the legal proceedings, Google consistently maintained its denial of any wrongdoing.
Singular Computing, founded by Massachusetts-based computer scientist Joseph Bates, contended that Google had incorporated its technology into processing units supporting AI features across various Google services, including Google Search, Gmail, and Google Translate.
The lawsuit, initiated in 2019, asserted that Bates shared his inventions with Google between 2010 and 2014. Singular argued that Google’s Tensor Processing Units, introduced in 2016 for AI applications like speech recognition, content generation, and ad recommendations, copied Bates’ technology and violated two patents. Versions 2 and 3 of these units, launched in 2017 and 2018, were alleged to infringe on Singular’s patent rights.
Internal emails, presented during the trial’s opening statements on January 9, revealed Google’s now-chief scientist, Jeff Dean, discussing how Bates’ ideas could be “really well suited” for Google’s developments.
In response, Google asserted that the employees responsible for designing its chips had never met Bates and independently created them. The company maintained that its technology was “fundamentally different” from what was described in Singular’s patents.
