Trilobio Secures Court Order Against Former CFO in Trade Secret Dispute

Biorobotics start-up Trilobio secured a temporary restraining order against its former CFO, Keoni Gandall, and his company Nanala, in a trade secret dispute. The injunction was issued by the US District Court for the Northern District of California on October 17, 2024, following accusations that Gandall had stolen proprietary information from Trilobio after his termination.

 

The court found substantial evidence indicating that Gandall had accessed and taken confidential trade secret data, which was protected under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (CUTSA). Trilobio claimed that the stolen information, including sensitive documents and source code, formed the core of its proprietary technology designed to lower the cost of creating long DNA sequences for genetic research. Gandall allegedly accessed Trilobio’s confidential data, including the CEO's work email and Google Drive, despite having signed a confidentiality agreement during his employment.

 

The court also approved expedited discovery but did not grant Trilobio’s request for forensic imaging of Gandall’s personal accounts and devices, citing privacy concerns.

 

Trilobio's technology, which integrates hardware and AI to create bio-robots capable of monitoring and modifying their behaviour in genetic testing, was central to the dispute. The company’s founders, Roya Amini-Naieni and Maximilian Schommer, were recognized in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for 2024 for their innovative work in biorobotics.

 

Trilobio was represented by legal professionals from Sideman & Bancroft in San Francisco

 

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