DaVoice sues Perplexity in San Francisco federal court over wake-word trade secrets
- Place in VP50
- #29
- Sources
- 2
- Claims verified
- 4 of 5
What happened
SyteMLLabs, which does business as DaVoice, sued Perplexity AI in federal court in San Francisco, Courthouse News Service reported on September 25, 2026. The complaint, which is heavily redacted, was filed on September 24 and alleges that Perplexity misappropriated DaVoice's trade secrets after the two companies entered a licensing relationship. DaVoice says its wake-word technology lets a device listen continuously for a word or phrase that activates it, with accuracy above 90% at below-market prices. The claims include trade secret misappropriation under federal and California law, breach of contract and fraudulent inducement.
DaVoice says it signed confidential agreements with Perplexity in 2025, a mutual nondisclosure agreement and a master subscription agreement, to license its technology. It alleges Perplexity took source code, inference logic, network architecture, training approaches and training data to build its own wake-word system. The suit seeks compensatory damages for lost profits, a reasonable royalty and exemplary damages, with no dollar amount stated in the coverage. Perplexity's chief communications officer, Jesse Dwyer, called the suit a baseless attempt to claim ownership of standard wake-word technology and said the agreement protects Perplexity's right to develop competing products. The allegations are unproven.
Key points
- DaVoice (SyteMLLabs) sued Perplexity in San Francisco federal court; the complaint is heavily redacted.1
- Claims include federal and California trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract and fraudulent inducement.1
- DaVoice says it signed confidential agreements in 2025 to license its technology to Perplexity.1
- The suit seeks lost profits, a reasonable royalty and exemplary damages; no dollar amount is stated.1
- Perplexity called the suit baseless and said its agreement protects its right to develop competing products.1
Why it matters
The suit adds a trade secret and breach of contract claim to the legal matters a buyer of Perplexity shares would weigh. No damages figure is stated, so the size of the exposure is not known from the coverage.
The dispute arises from a licensing relationship that Perplexity says allows it to develop competing products. The reading of that agreement is central to the claim, and neither side's account has been tested in court.
In context
| Round | Date | Post-money valuation | Raised | Led by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series B | Jan 4, 2024 | $520M | $74M | IVP |
| Funding round | Jun 27, 2024 | $3.0B | $250M | Unknown |
| Funding round | Dec 18, 2024 | $9.0B | $500M | Institutional Venture Partners |
| Funding round | May 12, 2025 | $14B | $500M | Accel |
| Funding round extension | Jul 17, 2025 | $18B | $100M | Unknown |
| Funding round | Sep 10, 2025 | $20B | $200M | Unknown |
Updated
Fact-check
- DaVoice (SyteMLLabs) sued Perplexity AI in federal court in San Francisco; the suit was reported on September 25, 2026.Confirmed by [1] Courthouse News Service (byline September 25, 2026): SyteMLLabs, doing business as DaVoice, sued Perplexity in San Francisco federal court; the complaint is heavily redacted.Verified
- The complaint was filed on September 24, 2026.[1] Courthouse News Service calls it a Thursday suit in a September 25, 2026 article, which fits September 24; the exact date comes from our research data. The Reuters page [2] could not be read.Partly verified
- DaVoice signed a mutual nondisclosure agreement and a master subscription agreement with Perplexity in 2025 to license its technology.Confirmed by [1] Courthouse News Service: in a September 2026 article it says DaVoice signed confidential agreements last year, including a mutual confidentiality and nondisclosure agreement and a master subscription agreement, to license its technology.Verified
- DaVoice claims accuracy above 90% for its wake-word system and seeks damages with no dollar amount stated.Confirmed by [1] Courthouse News Service: DaVoice claims over 90% accuracy at below-market prices; damages sought are compensatory, reasonable royalty and exemplary, with no amounts given.Verified
- Perplexity called the suit baseless and said its agreement protects its right to develop competing products.Confirmed by [1] Courthouse News Service, which quotes chief communication officer Jesse Dwyer.Verified
Sources
- [1]Courthouse News Service (opens in a new tab)Swiss startup accuses Perplexity AI of stealing passive listening techThis is a baseless attempt to claim ownership of standard wake-word technology
- [2]Reuters (opens in a new tab)Perplexity AI sued by startup for allegedly stealing 'wake word' technology
