Confidential knowledge or information a company keeps hidden—such as formulas, manufacturing methods, customer lists, pricing strategies, or internal processes—that gives it a competitive edge and is protected through secrecy rather than patents. Investors care because trade secrets can sustain profits and market position like a chef’s secret recipe or a sports team’s playbook; if exposed or lost, they can weaken future revenue, increase legal risk, and reduce company value.
intellectual propertyregulatory
Intellectual property are legal rights that protect creations of the mind—such as inventions, brand names, designs, software, or secret formulas—giving the owner control over who can use, copy or sell them. For investors, IP is like owning a blueprint or recipe: it can generate steady income through exclusive sales or licensing, boost a company’s competitive edge and valuation, and also create costs or risks if rights must be defended or challenged in court.
clean air actregulatory
A clean air act is a law or set of regulations that limits the amount and types of air pollution companies can emit and sets rules for permits, monitoring and penalties. It matters to investors because it changes costs and risks—companies may need to spend on cleaner equipment, obtain permits, or face fines, while others can gain new sales by offering compliant technologies. Think of it like traffic rules for factory and vehicle emissions: it controls what’s allowed and who pays to follow the rules.
civil penaltyregulatory
A civil penalty is a monetary fine imposed by a regulator or government agency for breaking rules or laws, similar to getting a traffic ticket for illegal behavior. It matters to investors because paying a penalty can reduce a company’s cash, hurt profits, damage its reputation, trigger additional oversight, and sometimes signal deeper management or compliance problems that may affect future earnings and the stock price.
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REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE: AI), the Enterprise AI application software company, today announced that on May 19, 2026, a jury in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware returned a unanimous verdict in favor of C3 AI in its lawsuit against Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI), finding that Cummins misappropriated C3 AI’s trade secrets.
C3 AI brought the case in November 2023, alleging that its licensee, Columbus, Indiana-based Cummins, misappropriated trade secrets. C3 AI became aware of this scheme when a Cummins employee inadvertently shared internal meeting notes documenting Cummins’ plan with C3 AI.
C3 AI made repeated attempts to resolve the matter amicably with Cummins management. C3 AI placed calls that Cummins did not return, sent a formal demand letter, and twice agreed to meet in person. Cummins twice cancelled.
“We are grateful to the members of the jury for their service, their attention, and their care,” said Thomas M. Siebel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of C3 AI. “We placed our faith in the United States justice system, and the justice system worked. The jurors heard the evidence, applied the law, and unanimously concluded that Cummins misappropriated C3 AI’s trade secrets. This verdict is a rebuke of Cummins’ actions that reflect poorly on Cummins’ executive management.”
This is not an isolated event. In December 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a press release stating: “The Justice Department reached an initial agreement with Cummins Inc. to settle claims that, over the past decade, the company unlawfully altered hundreds of thousands of engines to bypass emissions tests in violation of the Clean Air Act. As part of the agreement, the Justice Department will require Cummins to pay $1.675 billion, the largest civil penalty we have ever secured under the Clean Air Act.” This same Cummins now stands unanimously adjudged by a jury in Delaware to have engaged in misappropriation of intellectual property.
“I respectfully suggest that the Board of Directors of Cummins take a long and hard look at the ethical grounding and core values of its senior management, including its CEO,” Mr. Siebel said. “Cummins was an iconic American company. Its founder, Clessie Cummins, built it on innovation, quality, and integrity. The Cummins workforce, the Cummins shareholders, and the Cummins legacy deserve better.”
About C3.ai, Inc.
C3 AI is the Enterprise AI application software company. C3 AI delivers a family of fully integrated products including the C3 Agentic AI Platform, an end-to-end platform for developing, deploying, and operating Enterprise AI applications and C3 AI applications, a portfolio of industry-specific SaaS Enterprise AI applications that enable the digital transformation of organizations globally, and C3 Generative AI, a suite of domain-specific generative AI offerings for the enterprise. Learn more at: www.c3.ai.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding the anticipated outcome of post-trial proceedings, the pursuit of enhanced damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs, and the litigation generally. Actual results may differ materially. Statements regarding the conduct of Cummins Inc. and its executive leadership reflect the verdict returned by the jury, the public record of the trial, and the publicly reported consent decree entered into by Cummins with the United States Department of Justice and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Opinions expressed by Mr. Siebel are his own. C3 AI assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law.
