Mr. Droz said this did not surprise him because Mr. Levandowski had told him earlier that he wanted to start a self-driving car company and that Uber would be interested in “buying the team” responsible for the lidar being developed at Google.

Mr. Droz also said Mr. Levandowski, after being spotted at Uber headquarters while still working at Google, admitted to him that he had met with the ride-hailing service because he was looking for investors for his new company. Mr. Droz joined Google when it acquired 510 Systems in 2011, a self-driving car start-up he founded with Mr. Levandowski.

An injunction that hampers Uber’s ability to keep working on driverless cars could be meaningful in the fast-moving industry. Traditional automakers and technology companies see major opportunities in sensor technology and artificial intelligence to replace traditional automobiles with autonomous vehicles.

New start-ups are popping up regularly as both car companies and established tech firms are plowing money into acquiring talent and technology. Proponents of driverless cars say that autonomous vehicles will reduce the number of automobile fatalities and injuries, as well as free people to be more productive.

Mr. Levandowski, Mr. Kshirsagar and Mr. Raduta could not be reached for comment.

“Competition should be fueled by innovation in the labs and on the roads, not through unlawful actions,” said Johnny Luu, a Waymo spokesman. “Given the strong evidence we have, we are asking the court step in to protect intellectual property developed by our engineers over thousands of hours and to prevent any use of that stolen IP.”



Uber has called the Waymo lawsuit “a baseless attempt to slow down a competitor.” An Uber spokeswoman declined to comment on the injunction request.

Once allies, Alphabet — the parent company of Waymo’s and Google — and Uber are now fierce competitors. Alphabet was one of Uber’s early investors, with an $250 million investment in 2013. And Uber used to rely on Google’s mapping technology before deciding to develop its own maps.