MCP startup Runlayer accuses Rippling of stealing its product idea
Startup Runlayer has filed a lawsuit against Rippling, alleging that the HR software company stole its intellectual property after a year-long product trial. Runlayer claims Rippling used shared source code and roadmaps to build a clone of its Model Context Protocol gateway.
Why it matters
This case highlights the growing risks for AI infrastructure startups when collaborating with larger tech companies that possess the resources to replicate proprietary technology.
Runlayer, a startup that offers a secure Model Context Protocol gateway — a standard for letting AI models and agents securely pull in outside data and tools — has filed a lawsuit against HR software startup Rippling, according to the complaint seen by TechCrunch.
The lawsuit is a cautionary tale for anyone selling AI infrastructure to enterprise customers, especially to other tech companies, that increasingly have the engineering muscle to just build the thing themselves.
In the suit, Runlayer describes an extensive product trial conducted by Rippling as a prospective customer, during which the MCP startup shared everything from its product roadmap to its actual source code. The parties signed a mutual non-disclosure agreement and Rippling signed a product trial agreement with a clause that forbade it from copying Runlayer’s intellectual property or making derivative works, which is standard boilerplate in enterprise software trials.
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