Logistics unicorn Flexport has filed a lawsuit against two former employees, alleging that they stole thousands of confidential documents and source code to launch a rival startup, Freightmate AI. The lawsuit, filed in a California court, accuses Jason Zhao and Bryan Lacaillade of misappropriating Flexport's intellectual property to gain an unfair competitive advantage.

According to the lawsuit, Zhao, who is now the COO of Freightmate, downloaded over 70,000 confidential Flexport documents after agreeing to form Freightmate with Lacaillade. The documents allegedly included a list of over 1,000 Flexport customers, which Zhao copied and pasted into a new document using Incognito Mode on his browser to conceal his tracks. Additionally, Flexport claims that Zhao downloaded its source code from Github onto his USB drive.

Freightmate has admitted to possessing some of the documents, but claims they were "inadvertently retained" and not accessed or used by the company. However, Flexport argues that Freightmate's recent growth would have been "virtually impossible" without the stolen information. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and an injunction to stop Freightmate from using the allegedly stolen data.

The legal battle highlights the risks of creating a startup that competes with a former employer. Apple, for example, once sued a former chip design executive who founded his own chip startup, in a case that was dropped in 2023. In this case, Flexport's lawsuit against Freightmate raises questions about the protection of intellectual property and the ethical boundaries of startup founders.

Flexport, based in San Francisco, was valued at $8 billion in a 2022 funding round and has since raised a $260 million round from Shopify at an undisclosed valuation in 2023. Freightmate, based near Seattle, raised a $5 million seed round in January 2025 led by Washington state VC firm Fuse Capital, and an undisclosed pre-seed round led by Winschoff Ventures.

The lawsuit has significant implications for the logistics and shipping industry, where technology plays an increasingly important role in automating complex processes. Both Flexport and Freightmate use technology to streamline logistics and shipping operations, and the outcome of the lawsuit could have far-reaching consequences for the industry as a whole.

As the legal battle unfolds, it remains to be seen how the court will rule on the allegations of intellectual property theft. However, one thing is clear: the lawsuit serves as a cautionary tale for startup founders and employees alike, highlighting the importance of protecting confidential information and respecting the intellectual property of former employers.