If the name Gerard Williams III sounds familiar, it might be because you’ve seen his name associated with the overall chip design of Apple’s A-series processors over the years.
Or it could be because you remember the name popping up in November of last year, when we reported that Williams, along with other former Apple engineers, had started his own company called Nuvia, which develops processors meant to be used in data centers. Nuvia is taking on the likes of Intel and AMD, and not necessarily Apple. But that doesn’t mean he and the company that formerly employed him aren’t battling it out in court anyway.
Apple sued Williams in August of last year over a breach of contract. According to Apple’s claim against the engineer, his contracts with Apple prevent him from doing business that directly relate to Apple’s own businesses.
Now, as reported by Bloomberg, Williams says Apple is actually doing what they’ve claimed he did while working at Apple: poaching engineers working at Nuvia. Williams claims that Apple is actively trying to get Nuvia employees to jump ship, and also claims that Apple’s lawsuit is designed to “suffocate the creation of new technologies and solutions by a new business”.
Gerard Williams III, who co-founded Nuvia Inc. after working as lead chip architect for Apple until February 2019, alleges that Apple’s lawsuit is designed to “suffocate the creation of new technologies and solutions by a new business, and to diminish the freedom of entrepreneurs to seek out more fulfilling work,” according to a court filing.
Williams worked on several generations of Apple’s A-series processors, starting with the A7 and all the way up to the A12X. He worked at Apple until February of 2019. That’s when he departed and started Nuvia along with other former Apple chip executives.
Apple has argued that Williams was working on the business plan for Nuvia while he was still at Apple. And Williams has argued that Apple was monitoring his text messages and invaded his privacy. Apple also claims Williams was soliciting Apple employees at the time, trying to move them from their current place of work to make the switch with him to Nuvia.
Williams was recently denied by the courts to have Apple’s lawsuit against him rejected. This latest argument is the next installment of the legal battle between the two, but, at the time of publication, there is no word on whether or not it will continue into a full blown trial.