Rippling counters Runlayer’s trade-secret suit, alleges patent infringement in new filing

In a Delaware federal court, Rippling has filed a response to Runlayer’s trade-secret lawsuit, denying any misuse of Runlayer’s confidential information and accusing the startup of infringing Rippling’s patents. Runlayer, backed by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, originally claimed Rippling built a clone of its safety and governance platform during a failed partnership. Rippling’s counter-argument highlights that a text from alleged insider Tim Fall, which Runlayer presented as evidence of a copycat, was later clarified as inaccurate and not indicative of any code theft.

The companies are locked in a battle over the MCP Gateway, a governance layer for AI models, with each side asserting ownership of the underlying technology. Runlayer’s CEO Andrew Berman labeled Rippling’s suit as a desperate retaliation, while Rippling’s spokesperson dismissed Runlayer’s accusations as a distraction from its own business challenges. The litigation continues in the US District Court for Delaware.